3rd Person P.O.V.

1 year and 2 months after Pink Diamond returned to Earth

White Diamond sits on her chair, staring off into space. Over the past year has been slow, why? Hundreds of years would pass when she blinks, but one year felt like an eternity.

Was it because of these new changes and regulations? Was because of Pink? Was it because of Wayne?

These thoughts clouded her mind, she hasn't done her reports in weeks. The reports mean nothing, they're just what humans consider busywork and paperwork that has no meaning or value. What was the point in doing them?

What was the point of anything anymore? Era-1 was about building the foundation of what made Homeworld great and it was sudden over and everything changed from the shattering of Pink Diamond. Then, Era-2 formed and it was the darkest era for gem kind.

Then Steven Universe and the Batman came and changed everything and it all started over again. Is this some neverending game? Is something else going to happen and then they have a Era-4?

It all confuses her and she's supposed to know what to do, she's the most perfect gem in existence. Nobody can know what she's thinking. It's a good thing she's the only gem who can read minds.

She needed to figure out what to do with herself now. Era-3 eliminated anything that stands out to be perfect since all gems are equal. It's so weird that a Diamond would need to figure out what to do with herself since they're supposed to know what to do.

They run the gem race for stars sake! She leaves her room and her pearl is the first to notice.

(White's Pearl) My Diamond, where are you going?

(White Diamond) I'm... taking a walk. I need to think.

(White's Pearl) Very well, my Diamond. Shall I accompany you?

(White Diamond) No. I... I need to do this alone...

This confused the pearl. This is something Pink Diamond would do.

(White's Pearl) V-Very well, my Diamond.

White walked outside on the balcony and leaned on the railing. She looks at the civilization beneath her. All the gems looked happy, like they know what to do with themselves, but not her.

She looked away, jealous that the gems are happy. Why isn't she happy? Why is she even feeling this way?

She goes to Yellow's room and knocked on the door. The door opens and it is Yellow's pearl.

(Yellow Pearl) Oh, it's you. Come on in.

She saluted the Diamond and allowed her in the room.

(Yellow Pearl) My Diamond, you have a visitor.

Yellow looks over her shoulder while she's sitting, and immediately turned around to face her.

(Yellow Diamond) White! What are you doing here?

She detected slight fear in Yellow's voice. White tried to figure out why she would think that, but them remembered she never leaves her room to congregate with the other Diamonds unless she's issuing an order or if they're in trouble.

(White Diamond) I'm checking on you...

That confused Yellow.

(Yellow Diamond) Checking on me? What's the occasion?

She took off her helmet and started to clean it.

(White Diamond) Can I be honest with you?

(Yellow Diamond) Sure.

(White Diamond) What can I do if I lost my purpose?

(Yellow Diamond) Your purpose?

(White Diamond) I have the need to be perfect, and now that Era-3 sets no level of perfection, what can I do to satisfy the need?

(Yellow Diamond) Perhaps a hobby would help you.

(White Diamond) Hobby?

(Yellow Diamond) A activity one does to entertain themselves and to be productive. For example, my hobby is to change a gem's form to their preference. And my second hobby is to produce equipment for gems to use to inprove society or technology. It may seem like busywork, but if you enjoy it, you'll take pride in it.

(White Diamond) How do I find my hobby?

(Yellow Diamond) Let's start by figuring out what you enjoy.

(White Diamond) I like things to be perfect, organized, and to be superior.

(Yellow Diamond) Hmm... That's going to be difficult to discover. The need for perfect can help you form into an artist, but I'm not sure you could handle getting anything on your form. The organization is understandable, it's one of my favorite things to do. It's why I've already completed my reports prematurely did the rest of the decade. The superiority need is what's difficult.

(White Diamond) Why?

(Yellow Diamond) Because you're already superior. You're a Diamond. Don't you already feel the superiority?

That shook White. She's supposed to feel it?

(Yellow Diamond) White?

She hasn't moved, nor did she show no emotion other than shock. Is she broken?

(Yellow Diamond) White, are you okay?

She blinked.

(White Diamond) Thank you for the pep talk, Yellow. I'll leave you be.

(Yellow Diamond) White?

She left in a hurry. White went to the balcony again, desperately hiding the insecurity.

You're a Diamond. Don't you already feel the superiority?

She can't stop hearing it.

You're a Diamond. Don't you already feel the superiority?

It's flooding her mind.

You're a Diamond. Don't you already feel the superiority?

She can't--

You're a Diamond. Don't you already feel the superiority?

You're a Diamond. Don't you already feel the superiority?

You're a Diamond. Don't you already feel the superiority?

You're a Diamond. Don't you already feel the superiority?

(White Diamond) STOP IT!

She shouted. Her voice could only be heard in the Palace. Outside, nobody else heard.

She realized she's drawing attention to herself. Nobody can know this. She heard footsteps approaching her.

(Blue Diamond) White? What's the matter?

(White Diamond) It's nothing...

(Blue Diamond) I've heard you over the giggles and laughter in my room. Is something wrong?

Yes.

(White Diamond) No. It's a rather little thing.

(Blue Diamond) Are you stressed over the reports? You do know they aren't necessary, right?

(White Diamond) It's not about work. It's nothing, really.

(Blue Diamond) Are you sure?

White nods while giving her a reassuring smile. Blue noticed the smile was forced based on the look of strain on White's face.

(White Diamond) I am 100% okay.

She wasn't going to pry furthermore.

(Blue Diamond) Very well...

She went back to her door to enter her room. Before she did that, she looked over her shoulder and at White, who still had the smile on her face.

(Blue Diamond) You can always talk to me and Yellow if you want, White. We're just down the hall.

She closed the door and White dropped her fake smile. She needed to do something with herself, but what? She aimlessly walked around the inside of the Palace and accidentally bumped into a door.

She looked at the door and realized it was a room that belongs to Wayne. Curious to see what he's done in there for the past nine months, she opens it and stepped inside.

(Wayne's Pearl) Wayne? Oh, it's you, my Diamond.

White noticed the pearl looked slightly disappointed that it wasn't Wayne.

(Wayne's Pearl) What are you doing here, my Diamond?

(White Diamond) Just observing how Wayne manages his room.

She looks around to see not much has changed. There's a box and an armor stand with his old suit on it.

(Wayne's Pearl) Wayne doesn't come here very much. But he left a few things here for me to fiddle with to keep me occupied here. That box is full of his spare equipment.

White opened the crate and grabbed the first thing she saw. It's a hand-held thing that stores some white liquid in it.

(Wayne's Pearl) That is Explosive Gel. It's meant to destroy structural weakness. Don't spray it on yourself, it burns.

She wondered how she knows that. She grabbed another gadget in the box.

(Wayne's Pearl) That's the Line Launcher. A mobile zipline device. Very useful for getting across gaps.

Another device. This one felt very cold. It's a blue cylinder.

(Wayne's Pearl) The Freeze Blast. Made to freeze whatever it impacts on after being throw. It can freeze liquids, freeze assailants, and can evaporate hot air and clouds.

She grabbed the sharp looking thing.

(Wayne's Pearl) A custom-made shuriken. I can never remember it's name.

(White Diamond) Batarang.

(Wayne's Pearl) Yeah! That's the name.

White threw the Batarang at the wall to test it's sharpness. It was sharp enough to get stuck in the wall when thrown at it.

(Wayne's Pearl) I've tried practicing with that, but I was always off by a few inches.

(White Diamond) Has Wayne ever been here more than once a month?

(Wayne's Pearl) Wayne is present three times a month on average. He's actually nice and considerate, when you get to know him.

(White Diamond) How so?

(Wayne's Pearl) To start, he gave me a nickname, since I don't have a human name and my facet numbers and letters are complex.

(White Diamond) What did he name you?

(Wayne's Pearl) Alison.

(White Diamond) Alison?

(Alison) Affirmative.

She declared proudly.

[I'd like to thank Wattreader7389 for the pearl's name]

(Alison) And he gave me this to talk to him when he's on Homeworld.

She removed a little ear piece from her ear to show White.

(Alison) It's a communication ear piece that allows Wayne to speak to me no matter where he is at on Homeworld only.

(White Diamond) Interesting. Anything else?

(Alison) Just one thing. I think Wayne is comfortable around me.

(White Diamond) Why do you say that?

(Alison) He takes off his mask whenever he's in here. I know it may sound weird to theorize with, but I've never seen him without it anywhere else.

(White Diamond) What does he look like?

(Alison) Oh, I'll use my gem to project it.

She used her gem to project the image of Wayne. He looked so different without the mask. Well, he's supposed to, that's the point of the mask.

Alison turned off the projection.

(White Diamond) Does Wayne show up unannounced?

(Alison) Most of the time, yes. Ever since Yellow Diamond gave him the device that allows him to use the Warps, he takes advantage of it.

(White Diamond) Did Wayne specify when he would return?

She asked in case he were to show up. Maybe he could help her with herself.

(Alison) Unfortunately, no, he didn't.

White looked disappointed.

(Alison) If you want to contact him, you can use the direct line you have to him with that communicator.

Oh, how forgetful she was. He's part of the Diamond Authority.

(White Diamond) Thank you... Alison.

(Alison) My pleasure, my Diamond.

She leaves the room and retreats back to her room, passing by her pearl. She frantically looks for her communicator. She finds it and stopped herself from using it.

(White Diamond) Wait... I need to look professional-- Why am I talking to myself?

She starts to breathing to calm herself down. If she had lungs and a heart, they would be sore for how fast she's going. She eventually stopped and puts on lotion to make herself sparkle.

She opened the communicator and it calls for Wayne. A screen opens up and it revealed him with his suit on.

[Communicator] White?

(White Diamond) Wayne.

[Communicator] What is it?

(White Diamond) I-Is this a bad time to call?

She stopped herself from facepalming. She just stuttered on the line.

[Communicator] Not really.

She hoped it really wasn't.

(White Diamond) I... I need you to come to Homeworld. I would like to speak with you in private.

[Communicator] All right, I'm on my way.

He dismissed the call. She sat in her chair to wait for him. She practiced her fake smile.

After a while, she heard a voice talking and it doesn't sound like anyone she knows.

I wonder what White would want to say to you. Did you heard her stutter?

Who was that? Did Wayne tell someone about the call?

She's just beyond the door. I can't wait to see.

The door opens and two individuals walk in. One of them is Wayne, and the other was an unknown face. He's wearing a purple suit, has green hair, and has pale skin that's similar to White's.

Joker: There she is!

(White Diamond) Wayne, who is that?

She doesn't even bother to put up her fake smile.

(Batman) Who?

(White Diamond) Him.

She points at the ghost he pretends to not see.

Joker: Bruce is infected with some handsome lunatic's blood and now it's affecting his subconscious. I'm his best friend.

(Batman) I don't... see anyone.

He sounded hesitant.

Joker: C'mon, Bats, no point in beating around the bush. She can see us both. I guess it's her mind reading mumbo jumbo powers or something.

He sighed.

(Batman) Don't tell anyone...

If White didn't know better, she could've sworn she heard some emotion in his voice.

Joker: If you promise not to tell anyone, you'll become our favorite Diamond. Okay, fine, my favorite Diamond.

(White Diamond) Is he a ghost?

He nods.

Joker: Say, how are you able to see me?

(White Diamond) I'm not doing anything. I detect a presence.

She then tried to touch it but her hand phased through it.

Joker: Hey, that tickles!

The ghost giggled.

Joker: I'm a ghost for a reason. My blood is coursing through his veins. I'm a part of him now.

(Batman) I'm afflicted with a disease that could potentially turn me into the blood of the infected.

Joker: Which is me.

She noticed he isn't talking about the ghost directly. More indirectly, not even acknowledging it's presence. White, on the other hand, is acknowledging it's presence directly.

(White Diamond) How did this happen?

Joker: This happened a while back. Bats was losing quite a lot of blood from doing what he does best, so he went to the hospital and got a blood transfusion. Only to discover it was mine. Now, he has over two syringes of my blood in his veins that repeatedly goes to his heart and brain. And he has many other types of chemicals and poisons in his system. Poor Bruce, he has all that nasty stuff in him.

Batman doesn't do anything but stand there and let the ghost talk.

(White Diamond) Is there any treatment for this disease?

Joker: Nope! I'm forever!

(Batman) I'm still looking for a cure for this.

Both of them had two different answers. One of them is sure it's permanent, and the other is trying to find a cure.

(White Diamond) Could the four Diamond essences cure this?

(Batman) No. With all the poisons I've ingested in my life, it won't help.

Joker: One way to cure it is to die. But I'm sure Bruce isn't suicidal yet.

(White Diamond) Oh...

(Batman) What was it you wanted to talk about?

Joker: Yeah, what was the point of us being here?

(White Diamond) Oh... I was thinking--

Joker: Oh, boy... I've heard these words before in a movie. "So, I've been thinking that I realized my true feelings to you."

(White Diamond) I was thinking that maybe you would help me with something.

(Batman) What is it?

(White Diamond) With the new era... I lost my sense of direction and I don't know what to do anymore...

She looked embarrassed that she's explaining this to him.

Joker: Oh, I see what it is. You have no idea what to do with yourself and after going through Bats' mind, you're an obsessive perfectionist.

(White Diamond) I don't want anyone to know about this. What can I do...?

She asked with sincerity and genuine thoughts of hope of him answering it.

(Batman) I can't necessarily answer that for you, White. But if I were you, I would look for what makes you enjoy yourself and try being productive with it.

(White Diamond) I was told the same thing from Yellow. But what do you suggest? I just... need an answer...

After a moment of thinking, he answered.

(Batman) Last time I came here, you told me you gave voice to the little gem. Do you enjoy it?

(White Diamond) Not a lot. It's nice, but not satisfying.

(Batman) You can come to Earth and help benefit the gems in Little Homeworld with your abilities and advise. Perhaps you could share some of your lotion to the gems to help them look perfect.

Joker: He knows about the lotion!

(Batman) You don't have to bring the lotion. You can keep it.

She hides her lotion.

Joker: Well, this was an enlightening experience. I think it's time for us to go.

They both walked outside her room.

Joker: See you next time!

The ghost says it's farewells.

End of Chapter 19

4/14/2021