Chapter One: May 1945

In one of the many offices of the Pentagon, Yeoman Diana Prince sat at her desk going over the latest general information from the Pacific Theater. Outside, she could hear the sound of footsteps approaching from down the endless hallway and for a moment, she reflected on how much she'd disliked the stark endlessness of the Pentagon ever since the building had been finished two years ago. She'd much preferred the intimate coziness of the War Department's previous headquarters in the Old Executive Office Building across from the White House. Here, out in Arlington, Virginia there was a sense of being more isolated. And it was all too easy for anyone to get lost.

But then again, she understood well why the decision had been made to find larger and more secure headquarters for the War Department. The building offered much greater security in the event of an enemy attack, particularly with its underground facilities.

Not that any of the building's intricacies posed any special problems for her, she chuckled to herself. Maybe for the unexcitable, plain-Jane, bespectacled Yeoman Diana Prince, but definitely not for the person she truly was. Diana, princess and heiress to the throne of the mighty race of Amazon women who lived in hidden seclusion on Paradise Island. A woman with gifts of strength and intelligence who had become known throughout America and the world as Wonder Woman.

"Any word?" the usually giddy voice of Corporal Etta Candy seemed more so, as she entered the office.

Diana slowly shook her head, "Steve's been monitoring SHAEF communications for more than an hour. He said he'd be down here as soon as he found out whether or not its official."

"God, I can hardly believe it," Etta settled her plump figure into a chair, "I mean I always knew it was only a matter of time, but to think that at long last it's going to be all over."

"Not all over," Diana gently corrected, trying to defuse Etta's euphoria, "You saw the last report about Japanese resistance on Okinawa. Finishing off Japan might take months."

"Yeah, you're right," she nodded, "But still, just knowing that Germany's finished is finally letting me think more about what to do when its all over."

"I know what you're looking forward to," Diana grinned, "No more rationing. All the butter, eggs and chocolate you can eat."

"Are you kidding?" Etta's brown eyes widened, "Rationing's been the only thing that's kept my weight under a hundred-and-fifty for the first time since I was sixteen. That's the one thing I'm least looking forward to."

"My apologies.

"What I'm really looking forward to is the day when I can take off this uniform, burn it and start having a real life again."

"Really?" Diana began biting the end of her pen as she kept looking at her in amusement, "What were you planning on?"

"Oh, probably go back to college. I've heard that once the war's done with, Congress might pass some bills that'll give a lot of great benefits for discharged personnel. I don’t think they want to repeat what happened fifteen years ago with the Bonus Army march, when all the veterans of the last war didn’t have a penny during the Depression."

"Sounds interesting. I hope you find what you want to do."

Etta threw her a curious glance, "What about you, Diana?"

She put the pen down and spoke with casual disinterest, "Oh, I'm not sure. I haven't given that much thought."

"Oh come on," Etta was dubious, "You've got to have some ideas. What did you do before the war?"

"I didn't do anything," Diana said, "I was still living at home. You could say that this is the first real job I've ever had."

"Yeah but what were you planning to do? You obviously didn't have the Navy in mind as a permanent career."

"No, I didn't," she folded her hands, "But as far as the future goes, I haven't been planning that. I guess..." she trailed off.

"Yeah?" Etta prodded.

Diana smiled faintly, "I guess like you, I got so wrapped up in winning the war that I didn't plan ahead. I'll cross that bridge when it comes."

It was not however, a bridge that Diana had ever wanted to contemplate crossing. The end of the war raised too many questions about her future that she found too troubling to think about. And so, for three years as she fought the war for America as Wonder Woman, she'd always put the questions out of her mind and concentrated only on the present.

Just then, the outer door opened, and a jubilant Colonel Steve Trevor entered, "It's official," he grinned, "General Jodl and Admiral Doenitz have signed a formal surrender agreement. The war in Europe is over."

He then impulsively grabbed Etta and hugged her, "You're terrific Etta," he then came up to Diana who'd risen from her chair and hugged her too, "And you too Diana. I couldn't have won the war without either one of you."

"You couldn't have won the war?" Diana smiled with mock sarcasm, "And Generals Marshall and Eisenhower?"

"Oh they were two of my most valuable helpers after the both of you," Steve kept grinning.

Finally, Etta zeroed in, "What about Wonder Woman?"

He turned and looked at her with mock sheepishness, "Ah, well you've got me there Etta. She tops them all. Including the two of you."

"And well she should," Etta refused to let up, "How many times did Wonder Woman play your guardian angel and--"

"You're on thin ice, Private," he paused for effect.

Etta shrugged, "So I lose a stripe? What difference does it make in the end? When de-mobilization begins, I'm gone."

"I'm only kidding," he grinned, "You're right about Wonder Woman. I think when all's said and done, the historians are going to write their dissertations about how she shortened the war by boosting our morale in more ways than we could ever have imagined," he paused and took on a wistful expression, "A star- spangled angel."

Diana lowered her head and smiled ever so faintly, making sure that neither was looking at her. For three years, she'd worked alongside Steve as his secretary while simultaneously helping him on so many missions as Wonder Woman. Never once did Steve show a hint of suspecting the truth that his plain secretary and the beautiful Wonder Woman were one and the same. Often, she found that very amusing, and wondered what the look on his face would be if he ever found out.

But there were other moments when Diana didn't find it amusing that she'd kept the truth from Steve. Particularly since she was in love with the war hero. She had loved him ever since she'd first laid eyes on him three years earlier, when Steve's plane had crashed in a dogfight off Paradise Island and his battered and unconscious body had been washed ashore. Diana had nursed him back to health and taken him back to America, and had chosen to stay in America not simply to join the war effort, but to stay close to him as well.

And with the war ending, what did that mean for her and Steve?

"But enough about Wonder Woman for now," Steve said, "Tonight I want to treat you two wonderful women to a champagne dinner at the Hay-Adams, and celebrate the end of Nazi Germany."

"The Hay-Adams?" Etta's eyes lit up, "That's the best restaurant in town."

"You're both worth it," he grinned and put his arms around them both, "How about it, Diana? Feel up to it?"

She smiled back at him, "You'd better believe it."

"Feel like dessert?" Steve asked two hours later.

"No, no," Diana pushed her plate back, "After a 12 ounce steak and lobster tail, my uniform is about to bust."

"Let yourself go, Diana," Etta said giddily as she downed her second glass of champagne, "This is V-E Day. It'll never happen again."

"Maybe on V-J Day."

For the first time all night, Steve's expression grew somber, "Well that could still be a long ways off, Diana."

"I know," she said, "I read the Okinawa summary today."

"And that's going to seem like a mere trifle compared to what invading the Japanese mainland will take," his tone became slightly grim, "This is off-the-record, but General MacArthur's staff is making preliminary estimates about the number of casualties that would mean. One of my contacts there says that they don't see how it could be less than a million."

There was stunned silence from both of them.

"A million," Diana finally managed to murmur.

"Yes," Steve nodded, "And that doesn't include Japanese casualties, military and civilian."

"Is invading the mainland really necessary?" Etta finally spoke up.

"As long as they don't unconditionally surrender, yes. And not only that, it means the firebombing raids like on Dresden and Tokyo will have to continue."

"It’s horrible," Diana shook her head in disgust, "Why can't the Japanese admit the obvious? They're only condemning their own people to a senseless death."

"It’s that damned samurai mentality of theirs," Steve said, his disgust equal to hers. "Those maniacs in the War ministry who’ve been calling the shots ever since they invaded China back in ‘37 are determined to keep fighting until there’s no one left standing. They’ve totally brainwashed the population into thinking they should all just die with honor. So that’s why they get all these boys, some of them not older than seventeen, to sign up as kamikaze pilots and make suicide runs against our carriers in the Pacific."

"Barbaric," Diana agreed. "I’ve spent so much of the last three years focusing on the Nazis that I never realized until just a few months ago how barbaric the Japanese government’s been too. That report on the Nanking massacres of ‘37, it just....I felt like I needed to take a bath after I read that."

"I know," Steve nodded, "I felt the same way. When you read reports like that, you begin to understand just a little bit, why the Pacific commanders like MacArthur and Nimitz always felt our priorities in the war were out of whack by focusing on Germany first. They weren’t right in the final analysis, but you can understand their thinking given their proximity to the Japanese situation."

"So there's no other way but invasion?" Etta repeated.

Steve sighed, "Well, the end of the European war now commits the Russians to joining the fight against Japan. But to be honest, I have my doubts about them. I don't think they'll be any help at all."

"Why?" Diana asked.

"Because they've already received the spoils of war that they wanted. Roosevelt promised Stalin at Yalta, that Russia would receive back all the territory she lost during the Russo-Japanese war forty years ago, just for promising to officially enter the war once Germany was defeated. They haven't sacrificed one man to the Japanese and they've already got everything they wanted in the Pacific."

Diana sighed to herself. Occasionally, she'd heard Steve make disparaging remarks about the Russians and they never ceased to unnerve her. As far as she was concerned, the Russians were an ally fighting the same struggle against Nazi tyranny. And they'd had to endure the added horror of an invasion and occupation. Whenever Diana thought about Russia, she thought of a gallant people fighting back under terrible conditions. Why was Steve so disparaging of them? Indeed, why were so many Americans, particularly some politicians on the right wing so contemptuous of the Russians?

With an attitude like that, how could there be any real peace once the war was totally over?

Her thought were broken when after an uneasy silence, Steve managed to perk up again, "But enough of this. Let's get back to the celebrating."

As dessert came and went for Etta, and coffee only for Diana, Steve leaned forward and said, "I think the only regret I have in knowing that the war's almost over is that eventually I'll be losing the both of you."

Diana slightly tensed as she sipped her cup, "Why would you think that?"

"Well neither one of you are planning to stay in the Service, I would take."

"I'm not," Etta said with finality, "Like I said this afternoon, when the order comes, I'm gone. It's back to school for me, and the chance for something better than 21 dollars a month as a general's secretary."

"How about you Diana?"

"I haven't been planning that yet," she said evenly, "Like you said, the Japanese situation is still too critical."

"You've got to have some idea," he gently prodded, "When it finally comes, all the service branches are going to be demobilizing by quite a bit. There won't be much room for you."

"We'll see," she managed to smile, hiding the inner tension she felt.

Later, as Diana walked back to her apartment, having refused Steve's offer to drive her home, the tension had begun to surface as she pondered the uncertain question of her future.

What future was there, she wondered, for Wonder Woman in the post-war world? Her primary reason for leaving Paradise Island would be irrelevant. She'd be facing pressure from her Mother to finally come home for good.

Home. Resuming her life of tranquility and isolation from the outside world as she prepared to one day become the Queen of the Amazons. Why did that prospect make her feel wary and uneasy?

Diana stopped to turn the knob and she froze when she discovered it was unlocked.

She tensed herself as she opened the door and quietly made her way in without making a sound.

She closed the door and went into her magical whirl that instantaneously transformed her from her plain altar-ego of Diana Prince into Wonder Woman, blessed with the strength and wisdom of her Amazonian people that far exceeded anything capable of ordinary mortals.

She paused briefly to adjust her costume and then began investigating.

The light was on in her living room. Slowly and stealthily she made her way toward it.

Finally, as she prepared to enter, a soft girlish voice emitted from inside.

"Diana, relax. It's me."

She sighed in relief and walked in, "Oh for goodness sake."

Diana's younger sister Drusilla rose from the easy chair and came up to her and gave her a hug, "It's good to see you Diana."

"It's good to see you," she smiled, "But for Hera's sake Drusilla, can't you ever remember not to break in? You keep startling me every time you show up."

"What am I supposed to do?" Drusilla shrugged, "Walk around Washington in my antiquated Paradise Island robes and look like a fool? You know what that got me into the first time I came here. And Mother always makes me burn the clothes I bring back, so I can't look normal whenever I come up here."

"Yes, but you're forgetting that the world knows that Wonder Woman has a sister known as Wonder Girl. You could have made yourself public that way in your own costume."

"Uh-uh," she shook her head, "How would that look, with people noticing Wonder Girl headed for Diana Prince's apartment? Then where would you be?"

"Fair enough," Diana smiled, "But you could have called Diana Prince at work, and let her know that her sister Drusilla was here."

"If you think I've learned how to properly use one of those telephone contraptions, think again. Besides, I only got here an hour ago. It was on short notice."

"Really," Diana sat down on the sofa and crossed her bare legs, "And how did you cajole Mother into letting you come this time? Or is this another unauthorized visit?"

"Oh it's authorized," Drusilla brushed a lock of her dark hair back, "I'm here to deliver a message from her."

"Really?" she lifted an eyebrow, "Tell me."

Her sister sighed, "Mother's been following the war news on that short-wave radio you gave her the last time you were home. She heard about Germany's surrender, and she thinks that now's the time for you to start getting ready to come home to Paradise Island."

Diana let out an uncomfortable sigh, "Did you tell Mother that there's still a war against Japan going on?"

"She knows that," Drusilla admitted, "But her exact words were, and I quote, 'Tell Diana that I won't accept any excuses about Japan. She went to America to fight principally the Nazis because they were the greater threat. With the Nazis defeated, Japan will inevitably fall and Diana's mission is finished. She no longer has any reason to stay away from her people. She must come home to Paradise Island where she belongs.'"

Diana leaned back and stared at the ceiling, "I'm not so sure about that anymore."

"What do you mean?" Drusilla frowned.

"I'm not sure I belong there anymore," Diana kept looking up, "These last three years, I've learned a lot more about life and the world then I did in 2000 years on Paradise Island. I've come to think of myself as belonging here."

"To do what?" her sister persisted, "What would you do when the war's over? There'll be no more Nazi spy rings to break up. No more morale that needs boosting."

She looked at her with a wry smile, "Are you taking her side?"

"No, I'm just anticipating what she'd say."

Again, Diana let out an uncomfortable, sad sigh, "I've made a life for myself here. Not just as Wonder Woman, but as Diana Prince. I have friends who've come to mean so much to me. Especially..." her voice trailed off.

"Steve?" Drusilla finished for her.

Diana nodded, "I love him," she whispered, "I don't care what doctrine of universal sisterhood I'm violating by admitting that, but I love him. I can't envision being parted from him. Not after what he and I have been through together.'

Wonder Girl allowed herself a smirk, "You've been in love with him ever since he crashed his plane on Paradise Island."

"How perceptive of you," she chuckled mirthlessly, "I'm seriously contemplating that on the day the war is really over, I'll finally tell him the truth. That his plain, unassuming secretary is really his guardian angel."

"And?" Drusilla kept prodding.

"I want to tell him the rest. About how I feel about him. I know he feels the same way about me. But I know that would cause all sorts of problems with Mother that I'm not sure how I'd straighten them out."

"Problems?" she snorted, "She'd explode like the top of Olympus."

"Yes," Diana sighed again and stared wistfully at the ceiling, "So what am I to do?"

Wonder Girl rose and came over to the couch so she could sit next to her sister.

"I'll level with you Diana," she said, "As far as Steve Trevor is concerned, if you feel that way about him, then he has a right to know the truth."

She looked down at her, "You really think so?"

"I do," Drusilla's tone was defiant, "I've been up here enough times to see how much he means to you, and the idea that you should have to leave him forever without him ever knowing why would be the cruelest thing you could ever do to him. Regardless of whether you stay or come home, you have to tell him everything."

Diana hugged her sister with affection, "Thanks for the support, Dru."

They then got to their feet, "Its so good to see you. Now let's change into something less comfortable and you tell me all about what's been going on back home."

An hour later, with Diana back in her WAVE uniform and Drusilla in a skirt and sweater, they sat at the kitchen table and the Amazon princess listened to her sister relate everything about their home and friends.

"It's funny," Diana said wistfully as she finished her coffee, "But the more I hear you talk about Paradise Island, the more distant it seems to me."

Drusilla took a gulp of her Coca-Cola, "Three years in America undoes 2000 years of memories?"

"2000 years of sameness," Diana removed her glasses, "Don't get me wrong, I still believe in all the values I've been taught and all the virtues of our people. But at the same time, I think it's no longer right to isolate ourselves for the sake of female purity. If you want my honest opinion, Mother's let 2000 years of bitter memories go on long enough."

Her sister finished her drink, "But women still haven't been allowed to rise to levels of political power. Not even in America. It's still a male-dominated world."

"I admit that it will probably be a long time before there's ever a woman President of the United States," Diana conceded, "But this is a forward looking country. Women aren't kept in any form of slavery or bondage. There's a quiet prejudice to be sure, but things will never go back to what they were in our time. The way women all over this country have helped during the war shows there's a change in the air. And it has to ultimately get better."

"But even if you convinced all of us on Paradise Island of that, could you get us to give up our 7000 year lifespan on Paradise Island for a 70 year lifespan here?"

"That would present a problem for a lot of us," she admitted, "But maybe 70 years here is ultimately a better way of life."

"Simply because of the chance to love a man?"

Diana's gaze hardened, "It's not a mere trifle, Drusilla. A positive relationship of love and trust between a man and a woman is the most wonderful experience imaginable. Something more meaningful than all the lessons of universal sisterhood."

"Try telling Mother that," Drusilla quipped.

"Merely because Mother and all the other Elders went through horrible experiences with men, does not mean that the idea itself is bad."

"Of course not," Drusilla said, "But look what happened. Slavery and bondage at the hands of Hercules and Ares and their legions of war and brutality. Only by Aphrodite's protection and benevolence did they escape and be led to peace on Paradise Island. And then 500 years later, our sisters who fled the barbarism of Rome and joined us."

"A different time," Diana reiterated, "And a different world."

"Maybe," her sister conceded, "But I have a feeling it's too late for those like Mother. Or any of the other Elders."

"It isn't for me," she said firmly, "Dru, I'm glad you came, and I'm glad we've had this talk. Because you've helped me set my mind at ease about what I want to do with my life. Tell Mother that her little ultimatum has convinced me more than ever that my place is here. And not just because of how I feel about Steve. What I do as Wonder Woman provides an example an inspiration for women in this world, and let’s them believe that they can ultimately rise above what they’ve been traditionally taught to think about their role and place in society."

Drusilla smiled, "I'll never tell her that I said this Diana, but I think you're doing the right thing."

"Thanks," she squeezed her hand, "Now before you go back and listen to Mother's wrath, I'd love for you to come with me to work tomorrow and say hello to all your friends. Steve, Etta, General Blankenship. I know they'd love to see you again."

Drusilla sadly shook her head, "You know how I'd love to, but Mother gave me an ultimatum too. If I'm not back on Paradise Island by noon tomorrow, then I have to spend the next six months in the summer palace."

"In that case, I won't keep you any longer," Diana chuckled, "That place means boredom at its worst."

Drusilla rose from her chair, "Thanks again for the clothes, Diana. I'll need them to make my way back to my invisible plane, outside town."

"Try not to let Mother destroy them this time. The next time you drop in unannounced I won't be able to help you out."

"I'll try to hide them," she hugged her, "Good luck with the future Diana."

"And may the wisdom and strength of Aphrodite, Hera and Athena guide you safely."

Drusilla smiled wryly, "You're supposed to say that with reverence, not sarcasm."

"Am I being sarcastic?" she sounded amused, "I didn't notice. I suppose it's a little difficult to keep invoking the names of goddesses that no one else in the world believes in anymore."

"Wow," her sister was taken aback, "You have changed."

"For the better," Diana smiled, "And don't let her forget it."