Running herself ragged

[wonder_cassie]

She's never been here before. She's the same old Wonder Girl as she's always been, she's just not the nastier, shallower version that everyone else seems to know. She doesn't know a Kon-El anymore, she doesn't know of any Tim Drake anymore other than the one that she just finally began to see. Diana's been working with the military, so she's doing

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[mr_v_and_mr_c]

"Why would you want to be a hero?" Mr. Croup asks.

"More fun to be the bad guy," Mr. Vandemar agrees.

[wonder_cassie]

She glances up at them, her brow furrowing, not necessarily in confusion, but just... interest.

"Oh, yeah? I like being the hero. I like protecting people. Believe me, I know bad guys, and they kinda worry me." She points at the two of them. "Kiiiinda like you."

[mr_v_and_mr_c]

"What's so fun about protecting people? I prefer slowly dissecting them alive, myself."

"Kill them. Eat them." Vandemar licks his lips.

[wonder_cassie]

Cassie grimaces, tries to remind herself that while she theoretically could use her lasso and electrocute the crap out of Creepy-Is and Creepy-Does... it probably isn't the best plan.

"Mmm... right. Fava beans and a nice Chianti, huh?" She grimaces, her nose scrunching up. "Yeah, saw that movie. Creepist sixteen minutes of Anthony Hopkins' career." She shudders a little.

"What is it about you guys? I mean, why would you want to dissect them?"

[motorcyclehero]

"'Course you're allowed to ask for help," Johnny sounds as though the very thought of someone in distress and not requesting assistance pains him, really. He's quick to add, "What kinda help do you need, ma'am?"

[wonder_cassie]

She smiles at the blatant way that he comes up to her and just... offers the help. Y'know, just does it and doesn't ask for anything in return. That's exactly what she needs right now.

"I need someone to give me a damned break!" She cries with kind of laughter that someone has when they're at their wit's end. "I'm not just doing my job, I'm doing my mentor's job, too, and there's just not enough of me to go around, but I just... it doesn't seem right to go back and ask for help. I'm trying to step out on my own, be myself, and prove that I'm a hero." She sighs. "So why does asking for help seem like... I dunno, such a trial?"

[motorcyclehero]

He smiles back impulsively, like a little kid, and then takes a seat on the floor in front of her. Guy's dressed like a demon biker from hell, he can sit wherever he likes, right? Plus he wants to give her his full attention, and staying standing just sends a cue like he might leave before she's done venting.

"Hey--I understand. You're overreachin yourself, right?" At least he thinks he understands, and he recognizes that her laugh is borderline breakdown. "Maybe if you phrase it different it'll sound better to you? Like--maybe ask for a favor, instead. Somethin' you can pay back later, so it seems more fair?"

[wonder_cassie]

Cassie takes another deep breath, nodding some, and she leans back some on the couch before she sits up, Indian-style, and then leans forward a bit so she can look down at him.

"Yeah, over-reaching's a good word for it." Her blue eyes watch him with the light of someone who might finally be seeing some sort of vacation in the future. "But... yeah, I mean... maybe a favor's a good way to put it. I mean... I try really hard. And... and my boyfriend, Tim, he knows what it's like. When his mentor disappeared, he was all by himself for way too long doing god knows what to keep his city safe. And now... now I'm doing it and I don't even have the time to call him and go "Hey, sweetie, how're you? I miss you and oh, by the way, how did you deal with being the only crimefighter in your city before you had turned 20?"

[formofman]

Ah, Jason knows this one. Hmm...

"Asking hurts no one, Wonder Girl."

[wonder_cassie]

She vaguely knows him... He seems familiar, but nothing off the top of her head. There isn't an Etrigan in her world, at least, not one that she knows anyway, but it's kind of hard to say that someone growling your name isn't familiar.

"Um..." She turns to face him and raises an eyebrow. "I know asking doesn't hurt, it's just... it's not easy."

[formofman]

No Etrigan? What a horrible, horrible world. The Demon is so much fun... But I digress. Jason studies her for a moment more, sipping from a steaming mug of tea. "I do not think Diana would turn away from you for needing help."

[wonder_cassie]

Cassie's really confused that he knows about Diana. But, then again, she shouldn't be, given that her identity is public, she's a celebrity as Wonder Girl. And Diana is, too.

"Diana's totally wrapped up in working undercover for the military. I don't have any backup to get." She really doesn't like the way he keeps studying her. It makes Cassie feel like some sort of bug under a microscope, and she shivers a little.

[wonder_cassie]

That doesn't sound like someone she knows, but then, it kind of does. And that kind of catches her off-guard.

"Um... I could use back-up. Or, y'know, a break. Really. Not picky about it either way."

[wonder_cassie]

"Yeah, but, my mentor is off working for the military. I'm shouldering all of Diana's responsibilities." She realizes the cape looks almost like Bruce's, but, it's... not the same. In a way, that makes her relax a little. "I'd call Tim for help, but he's got enough of his own problems. And I can't call Superman, he's dealing with too many other problems. I don't want to bother the Titans with my own personal responsibilities. That sounds like I'm flaking out."

[hip_titans]

"Can't, like, be both?" Donna, all of sixteen, asks. "Us Teen Titans are still sidekicks to the big guys, and then we've got our own adventures!"

[wonder_cassie]

There's no Donna in her world, so the fact that someone else is wearing a Wonder Girl costume kind of takes Cassie totally by surprise.

"I was in the Titans, for a bit..." She answers, trying not to reel a little just from the disorienting feeling. "But, I mean, if I was just sidekicking, I could work with the Titans again. I can't, though, because I hardly have time to sleep."

[hip_titans]

Donna, at least, has encountered other Wonder Girls.

"Well," she admits, "I really don't do all that much, compared to Robin or Speedy. I'm usually just hanging out on Paradise Island, until it's time for a Titans meeting."

[wonder_cassie]

Cassie blushes when she mentions Robin. It always happens, and Tim likes to flirt with her and make fun of her at great length about it, but she can't help it.

"I wish I could say I have that kind of down time." She chuckles. "The last time I had anything like a break, it was because I was taking classes on Themyscira. And then Darkseid attacked again and now I'm stuck doing all this while Diana plays FBI agent."