Chapter II - Photographs

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"I don't understand what we're doing," Diana repeated as they gathered together in front of a tiny metal box on a three-legged stand.

"We're taking a photograph," Superman explained patiently. At her blank expression, he elaborated, "It's when you … it's like a painting that's taken instantly. We're going to stand and smile at the camera – all of us, Batman."

The Dark Knight faltered in his new attempt to fade into the background and out of the entire ordeal. He was the only one to protest the idea and the only one actively trying to escape. "I need to check the perimeter," he growled but the League didn't mind that anymore. The hazards of overuse, Diana supposed.

"C'mon, Bats, this will only take a second," Wally insisted. She would – she was, after all, the instigator and the 'camera' and 'tripod' were hers.

"It's been four minutes."

"Setup takes a while," Green Lantern said as he fiddled with the device's settings. "And … there. We'll all fit in that."

"How does it work?" Diana asked.

"Mirrors and light," Hawkgirl said vaguely as Green Lantern sidled up to the rest of the group. "Now smile at it."

A small beeping noise emanated from the small box, speeding up until a flash of light nearly blinded Diana and made stars blink in and out of her vision.

"Is it supposed to do that?" she gasped, reminding herself not to reach for her lasso and destroy the thing.

Superman glanced at her sympathetically. "Yes. And don't move yet."

The Flash ran up to her camera, clicking the buttons and looking at the screen with a critical eye. Then she smiled widely at them. "It's good," she announced with a thumbs up.

Around Diana, the team let out a collective breath and began to disperse. Batman in particular stalked off with a disgusted huff and a stream of unintelligible mutterings.

"Do I want to know?" Diana asked.

And Superman, who could hear more clearly than the rest of them, shook his head and said, "Nope."

Behind her, J'onn said, probably to Flash, "I do not understand why we had to do this in front of a burning warehouse."

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A week later, the Flash caught up to Diana in one of the Watchtower corridors. "Diana! Wait up!"

Ironic words for the fastest woman on earth.

Diana stopped and turned around. "Yes, Flash?"

A rectangular slip of glossy paper was shoved into her hands. She blinked, turned it around and realized- "A photograph?"

"Yeah." Flash nodded enthusiastically. "The one we took last week – I was finally able to print them out this morning."

"Oh." She'd forgotten all about it. Diana looked at the politely smiling faces, their figures lit up from the back by roaring flames, and fondly rubbed her thumb over the glossy sheen. It looked sturdier than normal paper … but still fragile. "It is good. But what does one do with photographs?"

"Umm, well, people usually put them in picture frames or scrapbooks. That keeps them from getting damaged."

"Then I shall do exactly that," Diana decided. "What will you do with your copy?"

The Flash smiled – for once, a bit shyly. "I have a scrapbook."

"Next time, we will have one taken in front of one of our victories."

"Next time?" Flash looked stunned at the thought but a pleased grin quickly took over. "That sound like a plan. Let's do it." A pause. "Actually, I do have my camera with me right now. Would you like to take a picture now?"

Diana turned away. "I shall gather the others."

"No!" Flash's arm took hold of Diana's wrist. "I meant a picture of the two of us. For my scrapbook. Also, I don't have a tripod to take that kind of shot."

She blinked. "Oh. I would be honored."

Flash smiled, angling the camera lens towards them. It was a bit awkward and Diana didn't see how the Flash could know for sure that they were even within its borders but she owned the camera, knew how it functioned, and so let her teammate place her face right next to Diana's. It was closer and friendlier than when they had taken the group photograph and she tentatively placed her hand on Flash's shoulder. Something more natural shaped her lips now, wider and more affectionate as they squeezed together for the shot.

"Smile!"

Click-flash

Diana saw stars.

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