Reality slowly crept in and threatened to destroy the perfect moment they had just now shared. Diana was the first to pull away.

She was completely drained and could do nothing but slump into the nearest chair, her hands covering her face as she sobbed. She felt Brett's hand grip her shoulder in an attempt to offer comfort. But there simply was no comfort to be had. What could be done now?

She realized, of course, that the magic lasso could be used to erase what Brett and Dale now knew. But the truth was bound to be discovered again as it had been so nearly in the past. And besides, she was sick of the deception. She was not sent into this world to lie. It was her mission to uncover truth, not hide it.

Sensing what Diana was pondering, Dale said quietly: "I can only imagine the position you are now in. My empathy naturally stops at a certain point, you know? Yes, I have certain strengths and abilities that only a couple of people know about, but you... you live the lives of two separate people and have had to cope with balancing the two for quite a long time. And one of those people has the weight of the world on her shoulders... literally."

Brett paused, took Diana's hands away from her face and crouched down so that they were at eye level with one another.

"Will you tell me? Can you tell me?" he whispered.

Through swollen eyes she looked at him helplessly. It was the first time Brett could ever remember seeing her look so vulnerable.

"Brett..." she started, trying to find a way to convince him that he should ask no more questions. Instead, like raging waters bursting forth from being dammed, the words came out uncontrollably. She could hear herself telling the story of how she came to be Wonder Woman as if she were a casual observer and hearing it herself for the first time.

Several times, Brett rose and paced back and forth. At one point, when she was explaining how she had worked with Steven Trevor during the second world war and then with his son at the IADC, he seemed overwhelmed. She wanted to stop, but couldn't...

When the words finally stopped coming, Diana was light-headed. She tried standing, but the room was spinning.

Brett just barely had time to catch her as she stumbled forward and passed out in his arms.