For The Girls Who’ve Lost Everything - Cassie Sandsmark
Cassandra Sandsmark now resided in the Titans Tower after the heartfelt reunion with her long lost family, or an alternate version of them. Yet still, she felt better, as she finally had her family back. She was now training much harder than before, as she punched the dummies even harder, ripping them in two with her Amazonian strength. She was never going to lose her family again. Cassandra ripped another one in half when her sister, Donna, approached her with a concerned look.
“Are you okay, sister? This is the tenth dummy you broke in two”, Donna asked.
“I’m fine, sister. I’m just doing this to be stronger”, Cassandra replied. Wonder Girl felt that she should never again be weak like she once was, which led her to losing everyone she got close to. At that time, Nightwing entered the sight, and let out a sigh. Now in the process of recovering from Talon rage, Dick noticed Wonder Girl was going berserk when she trained, just like he once did when he almost killed her friend.
“Judging from my detective skills, it seems to me you are not. And as the leader of the Titans, I have the obligation to look after my teammates and their problems. There is nothing to be ashamed of, Cassandra. Tell us your problem”, Nightwing said. Wonder Girl noticed there were more of their teammates now gathered at the sight. Wonder Girl wanted to hide the truth, but her sister was the one who broke her silence.
“If you don’t tell us, I might have to use my lasso on you to persuade you to tell us. We’re worried about you. You just lost so much..., and we want to ease your pain”, Donna spoke. Cassandra knew that she had lost, and decided to tell them.
“I’ve been so weak! That’s why I couldn’t save my sisters, your counterparts, from the Regime! I must get rid of my weakness and become stronger so that I won’t lose you again!”, Wonder Girl finally gave in, as everyone else nodded in understatement. However, they were not going to agree with Wonder Girl.
“There were times I thought like that, when my sister betrayed Tamaran. We were enslaved, and I wasn’t spared either. I always blamed myself back then. When I somehow escaped and got to Earth, met my friends... I still thought the same, but it changed when Richard told me the truth, that only ones responsible for my people’s suffering was my sister alone, and I was not to blame. Since then, we got closer and closer”, Starfire explained.
“The deaths of our counterparts were that maniac’s fault, not yours, just like Bruce isn’t to blame for my first death by the hand of Joker”, Red Hood added.
“I thought you blamed Bruce for that”, Tim Drake spoke.
“I was angry at Bruce because he didn’t avenge me, nothing else”, Jason Todd answered.
“And you shouldn’t forget that you are stronger than you think. Unlike my counterpart, your Superman, you didn’t give in to your grief, pain, and anger. And I don’t know what it feels like to spend years in the Phantom Zone, but you endured the hell”, Raven told Wonder Girl.
“And to think she has feelings for you. You are a lucky man, Conner”, Miss Martian told her boyfriend, Superboy, with a smirk.
“Yeah, I’m so lucky to have both of you”, Superboy nodded. Wonder Girl nodded with a bitter smile. Cassandra thought she needed to assure everyone she was now fine.
“Thanks... I feel so much better now”, Cassandra said as she tried to leave, but it was her sister yet again who stopped her.
“We are relieved to hear that. By the way, why don’t you visit Themyscira? Seeing your sisters would make you feel even better, and Diana... she wants to talk to you”, Donna suggested. However, the word ‘Diana’ froze Cassandra, as she still remembered her vile Diana who killed many of her loved ones. They quickly understood what happened, as Donna made a remorseful expression.
“You shouldn’t had mentioned the name of someone who killed our counterparts, her family”, Garth told Donna, who nodded, but still had her own retort.
“But our Diana is nothing like her. Besides, she asked me to tell Cassie about her wishes since I had much better chances of convincing her to listen”, an awkward silence took place as both Garth and Donna were right. This was when Billy Batson intervened. The boy was still shocked by knowing how he died by the hand of his idol’s counterpart, but he still had his access to the wisdom of Solomon.
“I think Donna is right. We should acknowledge that our Wonder Woman is a different person from her villain rip-off, but I know it’s difficult to change Cassie’s impression toward her, just like hearing about my death didn’t change my ideas about our Superman. But we shouldn’t ignore the fact that our new teammate, who is Cassie’s best friend and who should be hating Wonder Woman the most, defended her innocence”, Billy suggested.
“I love how compassionate and cute he is. Kara’s counterpart is so lucky”, Jessica Cruz spoke, as she was green with jealousy.
“Besides, what made my alternate self vulnerable to Quan Chi’s manipulation was exactly her hatred toward her Diana and Kal. It’s totally justifiable, and I would had thought the same way about them if I were her, but we cannot deny the possibility that new villains might use the same tactic to corrupt Cassie”, Supergirl added, reinforcing Billy’s opinion.
“I’m sure that’s how that evil Superman copy manipulated my counterpart, by telling me my friends ‘died’, while hiding he was the mastermind behind their deaths. I cannot believe how much of an idiot my counterpart was”, Cyborg sighed in disgust.
“But he figured out and did the right thing in the end, and Cassie still cares about him”, Jaime retorted. Victor quickly came to regret his words as he was not dumb.
“You are right, Jaime, and I’m sorry about insulting the other me”, Cyborg spoke to Cassie, but her thoughts were somewhere else, as she was in too much despair to hear them.
“Billy and Kara are right, and we literally saw the last of that bitch when she was amputated and was sent back to her universe. What matters now is defending the life Cassie has now from the likes of them”, Mary Marvel stood with her brother just like she always does. Wonder Girl was forced to ponder this. It was of no question how much she hated and despised Diana now, but this universe’s Wonder Woman was nothing like the poor excuse of an Amazon, and she would definitely have to work with Wonder Woman in her future careers. Besides, the thought of herself suffering a fate that Quan Chi imposed on her Kara had terrified Cassandra greatly, as she made a face of dread. Then there were Beast Boy and Kid Flash, who could no longer bear the dark atmosphere among their teammates.
“I think you should move on and heal, Cassie... Our counterparts wouldn’t want you to stay depressed for their deaths...”, Beast Boy murmured.
“And we can all be sure that’s not what Armin, your best friend would want for you. It’s obvious he did so much for you to heal from your tragedies and reunite with us”, Kid Flash added. This made Wonder Girl remember how Armin was there for her the entire time. She owed him so much debt, and her staying in grief was definitely not what he wanted. However, Wonder Girl didn’t know how to heal from everything she went through, as she asked everyone else.
“Then how should I heal? The tragedies and grief... they always come back whenever I try to forget them. I even have nightmares having all of you blaming me for not being good enough to save you... I don’t know...”, at that time, another Cassie, Cassie Cage entered the conversation with her best friend, Jacqui Briggs, and the Cage girl had the best advice she came up with.
“I know I seem to be unfamiliar with nightmares, but the truth is, I always had one when my parents were off to Outworld to take parts in Mortal Kombat. Every night, I saw nightmares of my dad and mom being killed the most brutal way possible... and Jacqui too saw nightmares about her dad dying, and I know we were fortunate not to lose them like you did your family... We always had sleepless nights back then. But being in this team taught me how to forget about them, by focusing on the happy and bright side of our lives”, Cassie Cage concluded, with Jacqui nodding at her. Stargirl heard this and took a mental note to make sure her father was not worried about her safety.
“So that’s why you two loved fighting criminals with us”, Stephanie spoke to the Kombat girls in understatement. Cassandra Cain was silent, but was glad these girls loved spending time with them.
“We always broke the no-kill rules though”, Jacqui smirked. Now, Wonder Girl had new question arise within her. She had lost everything when they didn’t, and she thought the only way to forget the tragedy was to forget about her Titans, but there was no way she would do so.
“So you are telling me I should forget about them?”, Wonder Girl asked.
“What they mean is you should try to forget how they suffered and died. You just have to remember the happiness you shared with them, and with us from now on”, Roy Harper explained.
“That’s exactly how we coped with Jason’s first death, and my dad’s for me now”, Barbara Gordon sighed, as her father was still dead, just like Wonder Girl’s Titans.
“I was always afraid Lex would try to kill either me or Kara if he had found out about us, but he couldn’t, and we always make sure we do not think about Lex and his motives when we spend time together”, Lena added.
“It’s the best way to get rid of a nightmare and anxiety, to spend as much time as possible with our loved ones”, Artemis Crook said in agreement.
“And I’m sure our Diana would do her best to keep you happy. She always tells me how she feels guilty about what happened to you, and wants to make up for it”, Donna spoke as she brought Diana back to the topic. Wonder Girl felt the dark clouds within her wash away a bit, as she now found the answer.
“I’ll go with you, Donna... Thank you”, Cassandra Sandsmark said, as Donna smiled in relief.
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The next day, Wonder Woman had come to the Titans tower to see Cassandra Sandsmark in person. When they saw each other, an awkward silence took place, until Diana decided to speak first.
“I’m truly sorry, Cassie... and I am truly ashamed of what my counterpart was capable of. She was definitely worse than Ares and Cheetah combined”, Cassie recognized Diana tied herself with the lasso of truth, to assure her she was speaking the truth. Then she remembered how this Diana was determined to put Cassie’s Diana down when Wonder Woman pummeled her counterpart’s face with her shield.
“No, it is I who should be sorry for thinking you are just like her, when Armin treated you as who you actually are”, Wonder Girl replied.
“And to think my counterpart tried to destroy his world and kill all of his loved ones just like she did yours... How can she be so cruel, if we were taught by our mothers?”, Diana sighed.
“Maybe you two had completely different history. You don’t have a crush on Clark like she does. She hates Bruce the most when you love him most after Steve Trevor”, Donna told Diana, who nodded.
“There were times when my Diana was just like you, a warrior for justice, except for her crush on Supes. But hearing this, it makes so much sense now. The way she lied about everything... you two were completely different person”, Cassie added.
“I’m glad you understand, Cassie, and I’ll make sure I will never become like her”, Diana spoke.
“You never will”, Donna and Cassie replied at the same time as they took off to the sky.
The moment the three of them arrived in Themyscira, Cassie found herself welcomed by Nubia and Artemis of Bana-Mighdall, whom had fallen to her Diana when Supermaniac came back to power. Quickly, the two of them extended their arms to embrace their new sister from another world. Wonder Girl relished falling into their embrace, as she shed tears of happiness.
“Welcome home, Cassandra”, Nubia spoke to Cassie’s ear.
“You will be okay. No evil copy of Diana will hurt us”, Artemis added. Then Diana brought someone, whom Cassie instantly remembered.
“Meet my new initiate, Cassie”, Diana said.
“Hermione Granger?! What are you doing here?!”, Cassie asked, dumbfounded.
“I was quite impressed with her managing to take my counterpart’s tiara, and thought another Amazon in Wizard Britain wouldn’t hurt. So I decided to make her one”, Diana spoke.
“And she is making a great progress”, Hippolyta added.
“Really?! Thank you! I never realized I would be this good at fighting until now”, Hermione said in joy.
“You still have much to learn, little one”, Artemis told the Amazon witch.
“We are sure you can easily take on your world’s threats now, though”, Nubia complemented.
“And I couldn’t have become what I am now if it weren’t for meeting you. Thank you so much”, Hermione spoke.
“You did help me a little until Armin came. So I should also be thanking you”, Cassie replied.
“Looks like you are a good mentor too, Diana. They are all good sisters to each other”, Hippolyta told her daughter.
“It is you who is a good mentor, mother. My counterpart was a horrible person who killed her own sisters, including you... and Cassie’s entire family. It is thanks to your counterpart Cassie didn’t become like her”, Diana replied.
“I don’t know what went wrong in the other world. Maybe your counterpart didn’t meet Agent Trevor?”, Hippolyta asked.
“Maybe so. She was obsessed with becoming her Kal-El’s wife, and I am sure she knew nothing about love”, Diana replied.
“Well, you two are wrong. My Diana met a person called Steve Trevor in World War II, but he was actually a German soldier, at least that was what she told me. She always spoke of him with hatred, telling me how he lied to her. Well, she is much worse than him now”, Cassie said.
“What?! Agent Trevor being a Nazi soldier? That’s impossible!”, Hippolyta yelled in surprise, remembering how honorable their Steve Trevor was.
“Mother, that’s what my counterpart said. It could be a lie. Besides, being a German soldier doesn’t necessarily mean he was an Nazi. Maybe he was a rebel attempting to overthrow these monsters. But seeing how angry my counterpart was, she quickly rushed to her answer without consideration I guess”, Diana told her mother, making everyone nod at her.
“What I can say is that these two deserve each other as liar couple if that Trevor was actually an Nazi”, Artemis spat with hatred.
“And she didn’t deserve you as her sister”, Donna told Cassie.
“Your sisters will always be there for you, Cassie. We’ll always be there when you need us”, Diana concluded, as Cassie smiled for the first time ever since Metropolis. She now had a home, her sisters, her family, and the real Diana who would always love her no matter what, and she would always cherish the happiness she shared with them, both previous and present ones.