Chapter 4

AN: In this chapter, Diana's new name is brought in – you who watch television should get who the last name belonged to at first sight.

Terry stepped out of the bathroom, now in normal clothes, and saw that the woman formerly known as Diana Prince was still standing in front of the mirror he had left her in front of minutes before – where the Amazon Princess had been towering, nearly six feet two inches tall, the new Diana was lucky to scrape past five feet seven in heels; raven tresses were gone, now replaced by fire red locks that licked down the back of her shoulder blades, her green eyes were wide as her hands went over her pale-ish skin. The bigger change, though, was that while 'old' Diana had looked to be in her late twenties, maybe her early thirties, the 'new' Diana looked to be his age, 18, maybe a touch older – it would take some time, but he was sure that she would get used to it, "What do you think, Princess? Is it you?"

She turned to him and, dressed in the over-sized sleep shirt that Max had left for her to change into, she looked confused, adorable and more than a little upset as her bottom lip began to quiver, "I shrunk."

He blinked, several times in fact, and then walked over and draped an arm over her shoulders, which she accepted, "Out of everything that has happened, you're upset over the fact you're shorter?"

She nodded, "I liked towering over the guys." She then looked down at her chest, "And I liked my bigger breasts – it distracted them, you know? I can't remember how many guys couldn't even think straight because they couldn't take their eyes off my chest."

Terry, remembering said chest, nodded in agreement, "Well, not much I can say or do about it, except say that you're younger, so maybe you'll grow into them."

Diana was about to say something, but another voice beat her to it, "Ter, I think I better take things from here." She looked over and saw Maxine Gibson, the friend of Terry's she had met before she had 'gone under', and noticed a marked difference in the young woman immediately. Gone was the 'new age' clothing, but now replaced by a stylish suit, though the pink hair still remained.

Terry nodded, "Okay, Max – you have the rest of the files downloaded?"

Max nodded at him, "All on your computer … Boss." He shot her an irritated look even as she grinned at him – she knew he hated being called that, but ever since he had been installed as the acting CEO of Wayne-Powers Enterprises, everyone, despite his fervent pleads not to, called him 'Boss'.

Diana watched Terry leave, hearing him muttering about gutting somebody or another, and looked up at Maxine, "'Boss'?"

Max nodded at the slightly shorter 'Wonder Woman', "Yeah, about two weeks ago he was installed as the acting CEO of WPE, and since I now work for him as his Executive Personal Assistant, I gotta call him 'Boss' – he hates it, of course, so I only call him that when I know I can get away with it."

Diana blinked at this, having already known that, one day, Terry would become the CEO, "He has taken the position … already?"

Max shook her head, "Not because he wanted to, actually, but because he wasn't given a choice – there was a scandal with some of the more redundant senior VP's and it would have really shaken up the company, but if Terry took over, he could fire whoever he wanted, and those guys got the boot. Once they were gone, the scandals came out and it was all pinned on them – he didn't like it, but Terry is now the CEO and learning quick."

"But how … I mean … what about his schooling?" Bruce's Last Will and Testament had strictly stated that Terry, barring an emergency, was to not take the position of CEO without a college education in business from Gotham University, but if Terry was already the CEO, how was he going to do his job and go to class?

Max nodded at her as they began to walk away towards the showers, "He asked that too, and he's going to be doing both – he goes to school during the morning and in the afternoon he's CEO. Not the best way to run a business, but he's adapting to the stress of it." They reached the showers and Max handed the redhead a towel and other things, "Get cleaned up while you're in there and put these on – we have the rest of your ID to set up, Diana … or whatever your new name is."

Diana nodded and went into the bathroom, shutting the door and stripping off her clothes as she walked towards the enclosed stall – it was time to truly leave her old life behind.

(Later – Library office)

He looked up from his reading and pulled off his glasses as the door opened and she walked in almost nervously – dressed in an emerald-colored blouse and black pants, not to mention her hair pulled back into a simple, yet still-damp, tail, Diana looked around and walked in even as he smiled over at Max, who was preening already, "Good choice, Max – colors work for her."

She gave him a look that said 'and you doubted me WHY?' before looking back at Diana, who seemed to be gaining more confidence as she walked, "Not bad, in my own humble opinion."

Terry snorted even as a smirk came to Diana's lips, "There's nothing 'humble' about your opinion, Max – never is." Max, for her, part, stuck her tongue out at him even as Diana walked up and took the offered seat, allowing him to go on, "So, Diana, how do you feel?"

"Sore, and a little hungry, but … something isn't right." Diana flexed her hand into a fist several times and then flexed her right bicep, "I don't feel as strong as I one was, and I can't float like I used to." She looked at Terry, who was nodding slightly, "Do you know why?"

"First thing that comes to mind is that you're not Diana Prince anymore, let alone Wonder Woman," he said gently, as if reminding her. "We don't even know if you'll ever get any kind of superpowers. However," he forestalled her objection, "given how you were created to begin with, it could just be a matter of time and development before they return." He put his faux-glasses back on, a cosmetic thing only that Max had almost not let him go without, given that he looked 'more like a CEO' with them on, and turned the computer screen towards Diana, "Now, before we go on with that, we need to fill in a few bits and pieces of your new 'past', starting with your name."

Diana frowned slightly, wracking her mind for names of women she liked and respected, until one first name stood out above all others … well, the second name, as using her mother's name would be too obvious, "Lois … Lois Sullivan."

Terry arched an eyebrow at her over the rims of his glasses, not commenting anything about it as he typed the name in carefully, "Okay, Lois, you're 17 right now, but you'll be 18 in a few weeks, and you've grown up in a relatively isolated portion of the world, given that your parents do not exactly embrace most technology. WPE has taken an interest in your schooling, offering you one of our four-year educational scholarships to Gotham University and we have brought you to Gotham in order to make your acclimation more stream-lined."

The newly minted Lois Sullivan nodded at this instantly, liking most of the new cover story already in that most forms of technology and she did not get along, outside of the basic computers, televisions, telephones and, of course, her coffee machines, all five of them. At her nod, Terry went on, "I'm going to offer you a clerical job at WPE in order to get you some real-world experience in the job market, but if you don't want the job I can set you up with something more to your liking, and we'll be attending classes together at Gotham University for at least this semester – after that, your courses are up to you to pick."

Lois nodded, "Thank you, Mr. McGinnis, and I accept your offer of the job."

He grinned at her and leaned back, taking off his glasses, "Please, outside of the office, call me Terry." He was glad to see her nod at this and he smiled even more, "So, I can get why you picked 'Lois', but who is 'Sullivan'?"

Lois smiled, thinking back, "Back before you were born, Terry, I knew this one reporter who had a nose for news and an instinct for trouble that rivaled even Kal's – in fact, she was an old friend of Kal's, who went by the name of Chloe Sullivan. By far she was one of the kinder reporters who wrote about me and I quite liked her abilities to see the truth and for her appreciation of a good cup of coffee." She remembered one night when Kal had shown up to hand-deliver photos of his baby girl to her and he found her and Chloe chatting over a cup of coffee – he had looked as if he was going to first soil himself and then drop into the fetal position for some reason. Later, she learned about Chloe's past with 'Clark Kent' and instantly understood for part of it, and then the other part when she saw a caffeine-hyper-charged Chloe Sullivan on the hunt for answers. It had been a frightening sight. "She deserves to be remembered, given the egregious way she was killed."

Terry arched an eyebrow at her, "Killed?"

"Over a story she was going to print that implicated numerous crime bosses being tied to most of the city government in Century City – she was walking outside of her home one day to get her mail when she was shot in an old-fashioned drive-by." Lois shook in anger slightly as the memories came to her unbidden, "The police and crime labs never put much effort into solving the case, calling it 'an unfortunate accident' …"

Terry narrowed his eyes, his mind flipping from 'Terry McGinnis' to 'Batman' in a heartbeat, "Was anything ever done?"

Lois shook her head, "No, not at all – I would have … but I could not." There were times that she did wish she could cross that line, that she could go that far for revenge, but she would never go that far because then she would be as bad as the people she fought against in the past.

Terry looked at Max, who nodded and made a note on her ever-present HoloPDA, which looked like the old kind only now it projected the screen up to full-size text, rather than trying to fit it all on the small LCD screen. He looked back at Lois and caught her attention with a slight cough, breaking her out of her simmering anger, "Lois, it's a fine choice for a name, both of them." He pulled a drawer open and pulled out a package of things, sliding it across the top of the desk and into Lois' lap, closing the drawer afterwards, "That's the rest of your credentials … except one thing." She gave him a look and he smiled apologetically, "You need to get your driver's license by taking the tests."

Lois paled even as memories of her past attempts at driving came into her mind – this wasn't going to be fun, given how much trouble she could get into on just four normal wheels. Put her behind the wheel of a new vehicle … she shuddered at the thought.

(Next Day)

Terry walked into his office and gingerly sat down behind his desk, sinking his head into his arms and forcing himself not to cry – an innocent remark by him that morning had sent Max dragging Lois Sullivan, formerly Diana Prince, down to the mall and buying her enough clothes to sink a hovercraft … and making him carry them all. He'd been subjected to fifteen different stores, to shoe shopping, dress shopping, frumpy shopping, underwear shopping (though he had been forced to only give short, articulate answers that were few and far between) and, worst of all, jewelry shopping.

According to Max, he was Batman, the Neo Dark Knight, the bane of all evil … and he couldn't even handle a light day of shopping with his best friend and her friend. He wasn't any kind of Dark Knight – he was a Dark Wimp. He, after listening to Lois howl in laughter, refused to agree and had drug them shopping for another two hours, shopping for him that, in the end, he had picked out all of two things he wanted to wear while they had picked out the other fifty things purchased on his credcards. He was sure that, wherever Bruce was, he was laughing his ass off at him and calling him spineless.

"Mr. McGinnis?" He looked up and pulled on his glasses, Max's voice coming over the intercom, "Miss Sullivan to see you."

He pushed the button, "Send her in, Max." He had been sent to work by the two women, told that he wasn't going to see the new girl before she was ready to be seen – oddly enough, he obeyed, though it later occurred to him that HE was the boss, the CEO, yet he was taking orders from THEM.

The door to his office opened and Lois walked into the room … and Terry was pretty sure his jaw dropped – dressed in a smart ivory business suit with an emerald silk blouse, her hair expertly coifed, wearing a pair of glasses much like his, Lois looked ready to take on any job asked of her with a professional air about her, but that wasn't what Terry was gaping at. For some reason, he noticed that she was gorgeous … and in the back of his mind, his inner Batman was barking at him to keep his mind on business, that she was Wonder Woman, not a piece of meat.

Lois' green eyes were sparkling even as she noticed that Terry had become a drooling idiot in front of her, just as Max had told her he would – he quickly recovered, though, and for some odd reason, she felt a slight loss at that as he grinned at her slightly, "Greetings, Miss Sullivan – welcome to Wayne-Powers Enterprises."

She nodded back at the young man who, technically, was now older than her, "Thank you for having me here, Mister McGinnis." He motioned for her to take a seat and she did so, "I must say that it's an honor to be asked to work here."

Terry smiled at her slightly, noticing that she wasn't adlibbing the lines they'd hammered out too much, "As a recipient of our scholarship, I was most insistent on you working here, or at least offering you a job of some kind – we here at WPE do like to not only offer chances, but to take them as well. Now, I understand that you and I will both be taking classes at Gotham University?"

She nodded, "That is correct – I finished registering this morning and my eventual degree will be in Business Finance, not to mention with a minor in Psychology."

Terry nodded at this, grinning slightly, "Then I hope I could borrow your notes on occasion, as those are some of my majors, too." He stopped grinning and straightened up, getting back into character, though he was inwardly bouncing at the chance to give this particular speech, "Miss Sullivan, I must inform you, though, that any ideas you have of being a party girl should stop right now – I ask that you stick to your studies with diligence and I must warn you that I accept nothing less than excellence from any and all who work for me. Do you think you can handle that?"

Lois smiled at the young man, remembering what Bruce had told her about his meeting with Terry's mother, "I think I can handle it, sir."

Terry smiled at her slightly, "Good – to start out, though, you'll be a gopher here, in that you will 'go for' this, and 'go for' that. You'll be a … helper, as it were, until you find your niche."

"I'm looking forward to it, sir, and I hope to not let you down." Lois stood and motioned with her hand that she wished to shake his.

Terry smiled and stood up, walking around his desk and taking her hand, "Very well then, Miss Sullivan … welcome to my world."

Lois shook his hand briskly, a smile on her lips, "Bruce would be proud of you, Terry."

Terry nodded at the former Wonder Woman, "I hope he is, Lois. Now though, sadly, we must get to work." He walked back around his desk and his intercom call button, "Max? Call HR and have Lois set up in a suitable office, please, and then have her assigned to the secretary pool for the day. Tomorrow, we'll work something more permanent out."

"Yes, Mister McGinnis," Max's voice came back, though with a hint of steel as he noticed that Lois' fingernails were also manicured. Oh yeah, he was going to pay for this.

AN: Okay, that's it for this chapter and, sadly, for this fic – yes, there will be a sequel, but I am not sure when I will get around to it. Will Lois keep her powers? Will she develop new ones? Not sure yet, but what I can assure you is that while Terry does seem somewhat spineless here, I've been in his position before (two girls shopping and stuck as the packmule – trust me, guys, avoid it at all costs), so I know what I'm talking about. Reviews, please, AR.