Diana was running late.

After receiving a call from Dale that robbed her of here last half-hour of sleep; it seemed that the more she tried to hurry, the longer it was taking to do everything. Could it be the lack of sleep, she wondered? Or maybe it was the sheer weight of her thoughts, she didn't know.

It was strange how different she was now, how things affected her so. She no longer felt isolated and so different from everyone else. True, at times, evidence of her sheltered upbringing shone through, but overall she had integrated herself into this foreign society and culture quite well. Starting first with the superficial- the clothes and learning the modern lingo, she had naturally evolved in other areas to her amazement.

Diana was slowly changing on the inside, too.

Her two identities did much to complicate matters, though. That sense of being divided between the truth and keeping her secret was overwhelming at times. Of course, the secret could be justified- she was helping mankind in her small way and she took great pride in that. But the gnawing 'other-hand', not being able to be truly honest and intimate with anyone far outweighed the 'first-hand'. Especially when it had come to Steve. She had noticed the way he had always looked at Wonder Woman. She breathed a heavy sigh. If he had only known...

But that was ludicrous! They could never know unless she told them.

Diana Prince took one last look at her reflection in the mirror. Was that a spot on her new Oscar de la Renta jacket? She didn't have time to worry with that now. She grabbed her bag and practically ran to the kitchen door that opened into the garage where her Mercedes was warming up. After that incident with Joseph Reichman's thug not too long after she moved in, she had been very careful to have the garage door up whenever the car was running. Her car was the one luxury she was allowed to keep when she transferred to the LA branch of the IADC. Steve had seen to that.

The Mercedes pulled out of the driveway onto Vine Street and followed it toward the interstate. It wasn't until she reached her exit that she heard it- a faint ticking. Following her keen intuition, she carefully changed lanes to the right, hit the brake and swerved onto the shoulder. When it came to a complete stop, She jumped out, fell to one knee and examined the undercarriage of the car.

"If my car gets blown up," she began out loud, but didn't finish. She found what she was looking for, but couldn't quite see the timer. She stood up, quickly perused the area and made her way toward the concrete embankment of the overpass and behind the cover of some mature trees that thankfully had been allowed to stay. This will have to do...

And with her arms out at her sides and hidden by what appeared to be a burst of light, her transformation into Wonder Woman was complete.

Running with lightening speed, she raced back to the car and slid herself under the car far enough to reach the small device. Without even thinking and with seconds to spare, Wonder Woman threw the explosive high into the air and like thunder it detonated, splintering into tiny bits.

Several cars had stopped by the time Diana made it back to her car. Ignoring the puzzled looks and the questioning shouts of the curious onlookers, she got into her car, picked up the phone and dialed a familiar number.

When the other end picked up she simply said with a roll of her beautiful blue eyes, "Dale, it seems I'm going to be a little late."