Wonder Woman: Loose Ends
Veronica Cale paused as the blonde haired woman
reached up to toy with the string of false pears she
still wore, a last remnant of her mother. She had
worked hard, developed her mind far beyond most and in
the end triumphed, becoming a very wealthy and
powerful woman.
'And look at me now,' Veronica thought wryly.
Along with many other geniuses she had been abducted
to a hidden island, eventually becoming involved with
the creation of super-weapons that devastated both
Khandaq and Bialya. It was because of those actions
that Veronica took over the 'science squad' as some
called them, and in the end successfully contained the
four entities they had unleashed. It was that, along
with the lack of extradition treaties from their
independent island, that kept her free from the
clutches of Wonder Woman and her allies.
"Miss Cale," Dr Tyme said respectfully after knocking
on her door, "the device is ready."
"Thank you," Veronica said as she left her office in
their new headquarters.
Built on top of a mountain on the island it provided
them with unobstructed views of any approaches and the
perfect point to strike at any attackers. Technology
within their grasp included the best Earth, alien and
future devices, as well as pieces taken from dread
Apokolips itself.
In a nearby lab Doctor Simon Ecks worked feverishly on
his device, his newly shaved head gleaming. Manic and
mildly insane from his stay in Arkham Asylum he bore
close watching, but his technology could be very
useful to them. He turned as they entered and smiled,
"Are you ready to be transformed?!"
Veronica sighed, "Dr, remember what we talked about?
This is meant to project a simulation of me only."
"But you could be Lady Double-X!" Simon smiled, eyes
shining.
"No, Doctor," Veronica said firmly, and he deflated
with a sigh.
"All right," Simon conceded, "I'll set it to just
project a copy of you." Under his breath he muttered,
"Spoiling all my fun..."
Veronica decided to ignore that, at least for the time
being. She walked by Funky Flashman, trading
supervillain gear again with Gizmo 2.0 and the other
villainous recruits they sheltered in exchange for
their capabilities. The place could be a zoo at times,
but she thought it was a fair trade for the technology
they brought.
Ira Quimby smiled, the tanned eccentric waiting by the
controls. "We've preset the requested coordinates
after you transform," he told her.
"All right," Veronica stepped in the clear glass tube,
"let's do this."
Energy crackled around her and Veronica shuddered as
power washed over her and through her, finally ending
as a exact copy stepped free of her. The energy
Veronica looked herself over critically then smiled,
"Good, it worked as expected."
"Beginning transit," I.Q. hit the switches.
"Where are you going?" Simon asked her eagerly, "Off
to exact some hideous revenge?"
Veronica gave him a pitying look. "No," she said as
she was starting to fade out, "I have to go
apologize."
In a quiet part of the United States a modest home sat
silent in the twilight. The woman within could buy a
mansion if she wanted to, but she failed to see the
point. Wealth and power had never been her goals,
merely science and research, and the dwelling she
lived in suited her fine. It was the second home she
owned, of course, her first having been abandoned
shortly after the end of her connection with Veronica
Cale.
Veronica looked at the house and shook her head, her
dress flowing around her legs. 'Ah, Leslie, you could
do so much better,' she thought, striding up to the
door then passing right through it.
The energy form of Veronica walked through the mostly
unfurnished house's lower levels then upstairs,
eventually finding signs of life. A office was
cluttered with papers and cybernetic implants, most
taken from the villain Silver Swan. The Swan had been
created by a obsessed man, but built in part with
technology Cale provided... something she regretted in
retrospect. Leaving the office and her shame Veronica
continued to the last room to check before pausing to
summon up her nerve.
'This is harder than I thought it would be,' Veronica
could feel the tears in her eyes, even though she had
no physical body to shed them.
Leslie Anderson lay collapsed on the bed, her squarish
glasses askew and her dark brown hair a mess. She
looked tired and worn down, but also filled with a
kind of purpose that made her shimmer with vitality.
All in all she looked beautiful to Veronica, and her
heart ached with so many regrets.
Kneeling down beside the bed Veronica willed her
energy state to solidness as she reached out to shake
her, "Leslie? Leslie..."
"Hmmm, Ronnie?" Leslie murmured, her use of the
nickname making Veronica wince slightly. The woman
stirred, raising her head as she blinked owlishly,
then with a cry scrambled away on the bed.
"Wha...?" Veronica started.
"Ghost!" Leslie yelped.
"Oh hell," Veronica blinked in realization. She was
there as a semi-transparent energy phantom, it was no
wonder Leslie thought she was a ghost. "I'm alive,"
she quickly said, "I'm just not here exactly..."
Leslie's mind raced, and Veronica could almost see her
making the connections. "Some kind of advanced
hologram and forcefield system," she realized before
adding bitterly, "did you trade Cale-Anderson tech for
that, too?"
"No," Veronica said, silently wondering how she was
going to do this. All her cleverly planned speeches
had deserted her now that she was here with Leslie,
and her mind was eerily blank. "I'm sorry," she said
quietly.
"Huh?" Leslie blinked.
Veronica remembered the scene in her office at their
company, when Leslie confronted her about their
technology in the Silver Swan. She had coldly cut down
her closest, most dear friend, telling her that all
the evidence would point to Leslie as the creator of
the improvements in Silver Swan. In the end, she
actually threatened Leslie, ordering her to get out
before she forgot they were once friends.
Veronica took a deep breath, and settled for the
truth. "There never was a paper trail leading to you,
Leslie," she said awkwardly, "I wouldn't do that to
you."
Leslie looked at her in shock, "Then why...?"
"I get... obsessive working on a project," Veronica
said quietly, "I lose perspective, become driven in
completing it. After sending Psycho and Silver Swan
after Wonder Woman I was starting to see how far my
war with her was going to go, how dangerous it was
going to be... and I had to get you out of it, away
from me."
"Ronnie...?" Leslie said quietly.
"So I lied," Veronica said flatly, "I made up the
worst that I could come up with, to drive you as far
away as I could."
"And... what about the self destruct implant I found
in Silver Swan after her attack on Wonder Woman?"
Leslie challenged.
"I won't lie," Veronica said quietly, "that was me."
"Why?!" Leslie demanded.
"I examined her," Veronica said quietly, "I had a
pretty good idea how badly damaged she was, and I
didn't think there was any chance she could be
restored to normalcy." A sad smile tugged her lips,
"Obviously, I should have called you in on the
consult."
Leslie couldn't help but smile back, but her eyes swam
with confusion. "I...," Leslie sighed, "I still have a
hard time trying to reconcile the Ronnie I knew with
what I've found out about what you've done."
Veronica sighed softly, "I never wanted you to see
that side of me." She reached out to caress Leslie's
cheek with a insubstantial hand, "I knew it would
change things between us."
"Ronnie?" Leslie looked at her questioningly.
Veronica took a breath, "I loved you, Leslie. Hurting
you... it nearly killed me."
Leslie sighed softly, "Oh, Ronnie... I wish you had
said something."
Veronica gave a sad smile, "It would have been kind of
awkward." Her hand shimmered, wavering and she pulled
back as she said, "Looks like my time is up."
"Wait," Leslie looked frustrated, "there's so much we
have to say!"
"I'm sorry," Veronica looked frustrated, "there's a
limit to how long this technology can work," Her body
flickered again as she said in a rush, "Take care of
yourself, Leslie..."
Leslie reached out a hand, "Ronnie..."
"Goodbye," Veronica managed to say before the field
finally collapsed and her energy body completely
dissipated.
Dr. Simon Ecks peered at Veronica as she awoke,
blinking as her mind returned to her body. Opening the
glass door he offered his hand, "How was the
experience, ma'am?"
Veronica ignored the hand, making herself pull herself
to her feet, her legs tingling as the blood rushed
back. "Very good," she conceded, standing as she
brushed herself off.
"Do you want us to set up for another run?" I.Q.
offered, smiling, "It'll take a few days to recharge
the unit, but..."
Veronica hesitated then said, "Recharge it, but I have
no immediate plans to use it." Silently she mused,
'Leslie is better off if I leave her alone.'
Both I.Q. and Simon were silent as Veronica strode
away. "Wonder if we should tell her she was mumbling
when the device was operating?" Simon wondered.
"She'd kill us," I.Q. noted. He smiled slightly,
"Wonder who Leslie is?"
"Best not to speculate," Simon mused. "Drink?"
"Let's go," I.Q. grinned as they headed off to relax.
End
Notes: Veronica Cale in Wonder Woman starts out with a
very strong connection to Leslie, and her fury that
her friend might have been hurt is a sight to see.
Yet, later in the run she seems to lose all connection
to Leslie and easily tosses her aside. Having it be a
deception by Veronica to protect Leslie seemed the
best explanation... All villains mentioned in the fic
are DC characters of one type or another. lol
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