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A long time ago, all Diana knew of the World of Man was that it was her duty to protect it should they face war once again. About the people themselves, not much was taught her other than philosophy. They did tell her how redundant men were. Not needed in the picture of mankind outside of their reproductive value. At the time, for her, who had grown on Themyscira all her life, that was the undeniable truth.
And then one day, Diana wakes up to a Soul Fragment. One not resembling any Amazon on the island.
"Hello?" She greets.
The Soul Fragment is blonde and wearing a thick jacket, that almost looks comical for their size. The Soul Fragment chirps back and brings the right hand to the head. A genuine smile draws her lips at the strange gesture. Diana cups the small body and brings them to eye level with her.
"What an odd creature," she mutters. The Soul Fragment crosses their arms but doesn't look particularly offended.
"You're not from here," Diana firmly states, "So you're from outside the borders of Themyscira. From Man's World."
Tilting their head - maybe his head - the Soul Fragment has a searching look on their face. It seems that neither of them know what to do with this. Diana hums. "We still have to find a name for you, don't we?"
Looking at the Soul Fragment, she can't help but note how calm, yet proud that they stand. Full of confidence, yet not reaching arrogance through the respect they show in turn. Undeniably different from the Amazons yet holding their core like one of them. They hold themselves like a warrior.
"You are a strange one," She smiles. The Soul Fragment chirps again, grinning at her.
"For the odd way that you are and yet hold yourself as a warrior," Diana decides, "You shall be Odysseus of Men's World. 'Oddy' for short. Would you accept this name?"
The Soul Fragment straightens and brings their hand to their head again, then chirps with pride.
Diana has to chuckle. "I'll take that as an agreement. And I shall learn to understand this gesture of your people." Then a thought occurs to her. "And introduce you to my mother."
As expected, her mother is appalled and calls Amazons to the council about how to proceed. For Diana to have a Soul Fragment not of their island, means that either someone from the World of Man will come to them, or Diana herself will soon leave. The debate goes on for days.
Before they reach a decision, a strange machine crashes on their shore, and she saves a man with her Soul Fragment from the tores their shores.
The man, Captain Steve Trevor, is just as mesmerized by her as she is by him. A strange man in the middle of a war is the one holding a fragment of her soul assigned to him by fate. It's fascinating. From what Diana knows, every other Amazon on the island has already met their fated counterpart, or believes that their assigned one will become one of their own. None of her people have ever questioned that their fated counterpart wouldn't be an Amazon.
Diana sails with him to Man's World the next night.
While Steve explains to her the intricacies of his war, her eyes can't stop straying to the boat's floor where their Soul Fragments sit. Oddy babbles with her counterpart, "Princess", like friendly representatives on a diplomatic meeting.
If it wasn't for the excited babbles that they sometimes burst into, she would have thought that they didn't particularly care for their connection to each other. Steve sighs.
Turning to him, Diana sees that he's watching them too. "I'll admit, I didn't know what to make of her when my Pocket showed up. But a warrior princess makes a lot of sense."
Diana notes the strange word. "I assume that a Pocket is what you call Soul Fragments?"
The man frowns, then asks, "Just to be clear, we're both talking about those two, right?"
She confirms and he continues, "Then yes, we call them Pockets." Steve gives her a curious look. "I can assume, but is there a reason you call them the way you do?"
Diana inclines her head. "Our people have named them as such because they are a manifested part of ourselves. It has always been seen as a sign of unending loyalty to be bound to someone, as the fates have made sure that from the moment in which two souls connect, a fragment always stays with them in life."
Steve seems to think the words over. He tells her, "That's a pretty take on it."
Her eyes turn to the Soul Fragments again. "Do your people not believe the same?"
The man hums, "We have many different opinions, but the general consensus is that they tell you who your soulmate is. Anything else, be it more or less, is up to the people themselves."
"Free choice and personal accountability," She paraphrases. "Do your people not believe in the soul bound duty to each other?"
Steve looks at her for a long while, letting the silence linger. Finally, he says, "We do our best with the amount of freedom that we have."
When he looks away, his jaw is set with tension. Despite that, she pushes on.
"And you," Diana asks, "do you have that freedom?"
The silence once again lingers, with only the waves reverberating through the night. Steve doesn't look at her when he says, "I fight for my country's freedom."
And as a warrior, she understands.