Chapter Three

July 1, 1945

A late afternoon day saw Washington living up to its reputation as a sleepy southern town. In the Pentagon, the unbearable heat had caused all windows to be opened and all uniform jackets to come off, as the War Department sluggishly went about its work.

"Well that should be it for today," Steve leaned back and exhaled, "You two can go now."

"Thanks," Etta wasted no time in snatching her jacket and hurrying out the door, "See you tomorrow."

Diana looked up from her paperwork and smiled at Steve, "She has a date tonight. Chief Petty Officer Hallahan from Naval Ordnance."

"Good for Etta," Steve smiled and rose from his chair, "How about you, Diana?"

She shook her head, "My evening is dull and lonely."

He rolled his sleeves back down and straightened his tie, "Well Diana, nothing would give me greater joy than asking if you could have dinner with me tonight, but I've got an important meeting at General Blankenship's house."

"Does it concern this project you haven't been telling me about for the last two months?"

"It does," Steve nodded, "I've been pushing the general to let me fill you in, but he said it's no go for another ten days. That's when the big test will come, and I'll be allowed to tell you everything then."

"I understand."

He put on his cap and jacket and looked at her with a trace of regret, "Look Diana, I really feel guilty about not being able to do anything for you tonight."

"There's nothing to be guilty about," she said reassuringly.

"Well even so, I'd feel better if you let me drive you back to your apartment. Riding the bus in this heat won't be a pleasant experience."

Diana smiled and rose, "All right," she said, "I accept."

They made their way to the vast parking lot, where Steve's official staff car was parked.

"I still think this place is too big," Diana idly remarked. "Once demobilization begins they’ll really see how much space they wasted when they built this place."

"I agree," Steve chuckled as he unlocked the door on Diana's side and held it open for her. Then, he went over to the other side, got in, started the car and drove off.

Ten seconds after Steve's car began moving, another staff car in the parking lot started and began to discreetly follow.

Behind the wheel, an angry determined face with a grizzled moustache and graying hair, stared at Trevor's car with nothing but pure hate.

"Now this is it, schweinhund," he whispered, "Now you pay."

Thirty minutes later, after driving across the Arlington Memorial Bridge and through the busy streets of Washington, Steve stopped his car in front of Diana's apartment house on K Street.

"Try to have a good evening, Diana," Steve squeezed her hand slightly as she prepared to get out, "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Goodnight Steve," she smiled, "Good luck with the meeting."

"I will."

Diana went up the steps to the main entrance and turned to wave as his car began moving off.

Suddenly, Diana saw another staff car careen down the street toward Steve. Stunned, she could see a blurred glimpse of a mustached visage at the wheel, holding a gun out the window.

Quickly, she backed inside the building.

Steve had pulled out barely twenty feet when he looked in his rear-view mirror and saw the staff car bearing down on him, and the outstretched arm of the driver holding a gun.

Four years of West Point training kicked in automatically, and he quickly ducked down. And then, he heard and felt the concussion of a shot slamming through the rear windshield. The bullet deflected off the top of the wheel grazing his right hand. and caused Steve to instinctively let go of the wheel.

The staff car swerved out of control to the right, and crashed on to the sidewalk against the front steps of the apartment house two doors down from Diana's. Ignoring the searing pain in his right hand, he reached down and pulled back on the emergency brake.

Trevor got to a sitting position and grasped his bleeding hand. He turned around and saw that the other staff car had stopped and the driver had gotten out and was making his way toward him, brandishing his pistol.

Numb, he tried to reach for his own gun inside his jacket. But then he heard a cold, menacing voice say in accented English, "Don't even try."

Trevor looked up just as the man reached down and stripped away his revolver.

"So we finally meet," the man said with venom as he cocked his pistol, "And at last, Colonel Trevor, I will have my revenge."

"Who are you?" he whispered.

"SS Standartenfuhrer Dietrich Bolle," pride filled his voice, "Two years ago Colonel, you led the team that broke up the top German sabotage ring in America, the Iron Brigade."

Trevor dimly nodded, "I remember," his expression hardened, "And now I get the connection. The leader of the ring was Major Gunther Bolle." he paused slightly, "Your brother?"

"Yes," Bolle grabbed Steve by the lapel, "And I swore that my last service on behalf of the Fuhrer would be to avenge Gunther's death."

"Your brother brought it on himself," Steve said coldly, "He refused to surrender peacefully and I acted accordingly."

"You should have thought twice, Colonel," Bolle cocked the trigger, "It has turned out to be the greatest mistake of your illustrious career."

Suddenly, Bolle was yanked from behind and tossed into the air. Steve looked up and smiled in relief when he saw a familiar star-spangled sight.

Wonder Woman.

Bolle hit the pavement twenty feet from where he'd been thrown. Sprawled out, he looked up and saw the mighty Amazon walking toward him with a contemptuous smirk.

Enraged, the Nazi fired madly at her. Wonder Woman's arms went up and the small lead projectiles ricocheted harmlessly off her bracelets. A technique that was all too familiar to her. Bracelets made from the indestructible mineral feminum that only existed on Paradise Island. One of the many elements that gave her strength and power that no other mortal could ever possess.

Finally, Bolle's gun clicked empty. Wonder Woman planted her boot on his hand and towered over him with her hands on hips.

"Get up," she commanded.

Initially, Bolle seemed to comply. But as soon as he was on his feet, he suddenly blurted, "No woman can defeat me!" and he lunged at her with a karate motion.

But Wonder Woman expertly timed his lunge, grabbed him by the arm and threw him up into the air where he did a perfect somersault before landing flat on his back.

The SS officer was moaning in pain as Wonder Woman threw her golden lasso over him and pulled him back toward her. She then bound him up tight and hitched the lasso to the car bumper.

"You won't be going anywhere," she said coyly, "Next time, don't underestimate a woman's ability. That kind of thinking lost you the war."

She turned around and headed back to Steve, who was slowly getting out of his own car.

"Are you all right, Steve?"

"Yeah," he nodded as he began wrapping a handkerchief around his bleeding hand, "I'll be all right. It's just a flesh wound. Nothing serious."

"Who was that?"

He grimaced as he tightened the makeshift tourniquet, "He's an SS officer whose brother was killed when I broke up the Iron Brigade ring two years ago."

Wonder Woman shook her head in disgust, "Even when they've lost, they still don't give up."

"Yeah," Steve nodded, "God, I'm glad you were here, Diana, or I would have been--"

Abruptly, he stopped and looked up at her in sudden embarrassment. Wonder Woman was staring at him in stunned shock.

"What did you call me?" she barely managed to get her words out.

Steve sagged against the car and awkwardly looked down at the ground.

"I know, Diana," he whispered, "I've known for a long time."

Ashamed, he turned away from her, "Let's get Colonel Bolle taken care of. And... well, we can then talk about this."

He made his way down to Bolle's car where the SS officer sat bleeding from the mouth, and still moaning in pain. It was almost a full minute before Wonder Woman felt composed enough to follow him.

In the space of a few seconds, Steve had accelerated the timetable on how she was going to deal with her future. And at the moment, she was still uncertain as to how she was going to handle that.

An hour later, with Steve's hand freshly bandaged and Bolle left with the Washington MPD, they drove back through the downtown streets, heading northwest toward Georgetown.

"I already called General Blankenship and canceled my meeting with him," Steve said as he delicately held the wheel, "For now, I think we should go to my place because unless you're going to change back, you shouldn't be seen going into your own apartment."

"That's fine," Diana's voice was flat.

He glanced at her in agony, "Diana, I'm sorry. I knew you'd tell me yourself one day when you thought it was right, and I was willing to wait. But I was just in so much shock from the whole thing that it slipped out. I'm really sorry."

"I'm not blaming you for anything, Steve," she shook her head and tried to soften her tone, "I just..." she looked at him, "How long?"

Steve sighed and kept looking ahead, "Since December 1942."

"That long?" her eyes widened, "How did you figure it out?"

"I don't work in intelligence for nothing," he said, "After a while, I thought it was very odd that I'd never seen you and Diana Prince together. And there were one or two occasions when you saved my life and it seemed to come just as Yeoman Prince had quietly disappeared into thin air."

He paused to take a breath, "Once I started developing a suspicion, I noticed other things. You were the right height. Your voices sounded remarkably alike. And the more I thought about it, the more I realized that it was the perfect cover for you. How else could Wonder Woman lose herself amongst the public than by passing herself off as a plain-Jane, unexcitable person? And I realized further that it seemed the only way for you to keep track of what I was doing, and always know when I needed you."

Steve glanced at her again, "I want you to know how grateful I've been for everything. Not just for all the times you've saved my life, but even as Diana Prince you've come to mean a lot to me. The more I got to know you as Diana Prince, and saw how warm and compassionate you were, the more I knew that my hunch was right."

Diana sighed, "If you know, then do you think anyone else does? Etta? General Blankenship?"

"No," he said firmly, "No, I've never said a word to them. You can rest easy Diana. I was able to figure it out because I'm the only person who's ever had close contact with you on both levels. I think your altar-ego works very well with everyone else."

He pulled into his parking space at his Georgetown apartment house. Decorations and war hero fame had enabled him to move out of the spartan officers barracks at Fort Myer, and into more comfortable accommodations.

"Let's go in and talk some more," he said as he got out. Somewhat dazed, Diana followed him in.

Moments later, they were inside his modest two-bedroom apartment. Steve disappeared into the kitchen, while Diana stayed in the living room.

Diana noticed that the furniture was moderately upper grade, and the walls were adorned with photos of Steve posing with a number of prominent people, including Generals MacArthur, Eisenhower, Marshall, Bradley and Patton. From the political arena, there was Steve with House Speaker Sam Rayburn, Senator Arthur Vandenberg, and most prominently, a signed photo of Steve with the late President Roosevelt. Diana came up to it and read the inscription. "To Major Steve Trevor, a true American hero of the first order-FDR."

On the other side of the room, were photos of Steve with entertainment and sports personalities. Betty Grable. Dorothy Lamour. Jimmy Stewart. Bob Hope. Ted Williams. Joe DiMaggio. Joe Louis.

Then, above the small fireplace, Diana noticed three pictures that stood alone. On the mantlepiece, small framed pictures of Steve with herself as Diana Prince, and another with her as Wonder Woman, flanked a larger picture of herself as Wonder Woman, where she stood all alone.

She let out a sigh and looked back toward the kitchen, "Would you prefer I change back into uniform?"

Steve frowned as he emerged with a bottle of wine and two glasses, "How are you going to do that?"

"It's quite easy." she did a slow pirouette and in the wink of an eye, her costume disappeared and she was back in uniform, her hair swept up and her glasses in place.

His mouth dropped open and he almost dropped the wine glasses. "How did you do that?" he said in disbelief.

"It's an old trick I learned back home on Paradise Island."

"Paradise Island?" Steve managed to set the wine and the glasses down, and he dropped into his leather chair.

Diana sat down on the sofa across from him, "Now that you know who I am, I might as well tell you everything about me."

Dimly, he poured himself a drink, "No offense, Diana, but I think I'd feel easier if you told me this as Wonder Woman."

She smiled and did another graceful pirouette. In an instant, the plain, dowdy image of Diana Prince was gone, replaced by the image of perfect female beauty.

Steve disbelievingly shook his head, "I have a feeling I'm in for a long night."

Diana's smile widened and she began.

"It all begins three years ago, when you were shot down over the Atlantic by Captain Drangel, the Nazi spy who was trying to destroy the Brooklyn Navy Yard and the Norden bomb-site factory..."

For over an hour, Steve sat with rapt attention as Diana told him the full story of Paradise Island and the Amazon tribe, and how she'd been led to America to take part in the fight against the Nazis. Throughout her narrative, he said nothing, but his wide-eyed expression revealed his fascination.

"It's incredible," he murmured, "A lost civilization that goes back 2500 years. And my God, that means you're..."

"2500 years old," she finished for him and smiled, "But only 25 in normal terms."

"There are some things I still don't understand. What was that part about you being created from a statue?"

Diana let out a long laugh, "That was a story my mother always told me when I was a child. That she'd received her daughters as divine gifts from Aphrodite by molding clay statues in the form of a child, and then the breath of Aphrodite brought them to life."

"And you believe that?" he looked at her quizzically.

She shrugged, "I don’t have any reason to doubt it Steve. The same is true for all of us who were born after the arrival of the Elders on Paradise Island. It’s always been taught to me as a real event, not a metaphor or an allegory, so I’ve always regarded it as true. Maybe someday I’ll find out that there’s another way of looking at the story, but for now...." she trailed off and shrugged again.

"I see," Steve uneasily folded his hands, "Then in that case do you still believe that Aphrodite and all the ancient gods are real?"

Diana smiled thinly and gazed at the ceiling, "I've been taught to worship obediently at a temple to Aphrodite for 2000 years and I don’t think I can ever give that part of me up. But I will admit that the fact that the rest of the world regards them as mythical fantasies has been a telling lesson for me. The true test of a religion should be its ability to endure. And if the old deities have not endured, then it seems possible that they have no place in the world today." she paused and looked at him with faint concern, "Steve, are you asking me these questions because of the ramifications regarding your own religious beliefs?"

"I guess I am," he admitted.

"I think you’re being concerned over nothing," Diana sounded reassuring, "My religion has no place in the world beyond Paradise Island because the ancient goddess, real as she might have been, lacked the power to provide more important things to the people of this world. The hope of eternal life, salvation and redemption that Christians, Jews and Moslems seek through their religion. Maybe it’s true that the Deity you worship is the most powerful of all gods, and the ones that I worship were in the end subservient to that same Deity and had to step aside so to speak. Aphrodite might still have dominion over what is basically her own creation, but for someone like you, Aphrodite is irrelevant."

"I see," Steve nodded, feeling reassured just a bit, "But out of curiosity, did your people ever know anything of the belief in one God before your Exodus?"

"The Hebrews?" Diana shrugged, "We knew of them, but not directly. Their faith seemed strange to us. A mysterious single God with no name, no graven image in art. A kingdom in Judea that had been overrun by Babylonians, then Persians, then Greeks. We didn't regard the Hebrews as evil and barbaric, as we did the Greeks. It's just that they seemed so passive and weak. I never would have thought that their religion would be the only one from my time that still endures. The fact that it has and mine hasn't, tells me that perhaps that belief in a single all-powerful Deity is the correct one for all non-Amazons, and that my race represents a last enclave controlled by one of the minor gods."

"I could see it that way," he nodded. "I'm a little puzzled though about some other things. If your people has spent 2500 years in isolation from the rest of the world, and knows next to nothing about what has happened in the years since, then how have you been able to develop technologies like guns and bullets for that....competition you went through in order to leave Paradise Island?"

Diana grinned wryly at him, "Feminine ingenuity, Steve."

He chuckled at her answer, "My apologies. Is that the kind of masculine arrogance that drove your people into seclusion?"

"You might say so," she answered. "But believe me Steve, I think you're an entirely different kind of man."

"I'm glad I've been able to impress you."

"You have," she chose her words carefully, bracing herself for what she wanted to say next. "You've helped me learn a lot of wonderful things in this world. And even after three years, there's still so much I don't know enough about."

"What are your post-war plans going to be?"

Diana sighed, "My mother wants me to return to Paradise Island and resume my place as the heiress to the Amazon throne."

Steve's smile faded and his face grew crestfallen.

"Mother's never been comfortable with my being here," she went on, "It took a lot just to convince her of how serious the Nazi threat was. On V-E Day, she actually sent Drusilla here with a virtual ultimatum that I return."

Trevor tried to keep his voice even, "What did you say?"

She looked directly at him and her face broke into a perfect smile, "I said no."

Wonder Woman rose from the sofa and came over to him, kneeling down in front of him.

"I told Drusilla to tell her that I wasn't coming back," her voice was soft and tender as she placed her fingertips on his cheeks, "I'm staying for the same reason why I wanted to come to America. I happen to love you, Steve Trevor."

With that, she kissed him softly on the mouth. Stunned, Steve managed to wrap his arms around her upper body as their kiss became long and sustained.

"I love you," Diana repeated the words, "From the moment I first laid my eyes on you on Paradise Island, I've loved you. I've always wondered when I'd finally be able to tell you that, and I guess I'm glad you forced the issue."

Steve looked into her eyes, his expression full of awe.

"I've always loved you, Diana," he whispered, "Knowing that you've always been there for me, and saved me from all sorts of trouble that could have killed me. There hasn't been a night for the last three years that I haven't dreamed about you and waited for this day."

They got to their feet and they kissed again, this time with a passionate embrace as well. And then, Steve began to nuzzle her with a series of kisses.

"You're the most perfect woman in the world," he whispered, "My Wonder Woman. My beautiful angel. I love you so. I want you to be part of my life forever."

And then, Steve looked into her eyes, "Marry me, Diana."

Diana's eyes filled with tears as she relaxed in his embrace, "Becoming your wife would mean more to me than all the treasures of the Amazon throne," she whispered, "Yes."

They looked at each other in moonstruck joy as they settled on the couch and continued to hold and kiss each other.

Finally, Steve managed to reluctantly pry himself loose, "We shouldn't carry this any further, Diana. One thing I've always believed in is that the wedding night is the proper time for that."

"It's all right," she leaned her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes, "For you, I'd gladly wait."

He exhaled and began to stroke her long thick hair, "What would our marriage mean for Diana Prince?"

"That's a good question," she admitted, "Would I still need the privacy offered by a secret identity? And do you publicly marry Wonder Woman or Diana?"

She looked up at him, "I think all of that should wait until after the war is officially over. For now, it's best to maintain the status quo. And then we can move ahead."

"That won't be long," Steve said, "In two weeks, if all goes well, the end will be clearly in sight."

"What do you mean?"

"The project I haven't told you about," he said, "In two weeks, there's going to be a test in the New Mexican desert of a weapon that will make the Japanese surrender without our having to invade the mainland."

Diana adjusted her posture and allowed herself to relax more, "Tell me about it."

Steve leaned back against the sofa, "I already asked General Blankenship if I could let you, Wonder Woman, come out to New Mexico and watch the test firsthand, and also boost the morale of the men there. They've been working in almost total isolation for the last three years. He said that would be fine."

"I'd be glad to come out as Wonder Woman," she said, "What's this weapon called?"

"It's connected with the Manhattan Project," he said, "It'll be an eye-opening experience."

The term meant nothing to Diana, "I hope so," she put her arm around him, "For our sake."

Steve smiled and their lips met again in another passionate kiss.

Inside, Diana felt no regret or shame for having turned her back on the ways of her people.

She felt only a sense of wondrous liberation. And an even larger sense of contentment.

Chapter Four

It was past midnight, when Steve's car pulled up in front of Diana's apartment house. But Diana, who had changed back into her uniform, did not immediately get out.

"Steve," she reached over and squeezed his hand, "I want you to know that this had been the happiest evening of my life."

"And mine too," he pulled her to him and they shared one last kiss, "God, how I love you."

Diana relaxed for just a minute before she reluctantly pried herself away, "Okay Colonel. We'd better not mix ranks any longer."

"And don't you forget that tomorrow," Steve grinned, "You only outrank me when you're in your Wonder Woman costume."

"Goodnight Steve," she got out and smiled, "I love you."

"Goodnight Diana," he said tenderly, "See you tomorrow."

And with that, he quietly drove off. Diana stayed on the sidewalk and kept watching until his car turned the corner and was out of sight.

She let out a contented sigh and finally went inside. Once she was in, she kicked off her shoes and dropped on to the sofa, where she just sat in deep contemplation of the things that lay ahead for her.

"Mrs. Steve Trevor," she said aloud, "Mrs. Diana Trevor. Diana Trevor."

She settled deeper into the sofa and smiled, "I like it."

Diana then noticed the photo of her mother that she'd taken on her last visit to Paradise Island, more than two years ago. Hippolyte's image stared back at her with its full regal bearing shining through.

Her smile grew coy as she looked directly at the picture, "I know what you're thinking, Mother," she said, "It's a title beneath you. Your title is Princess Diana, heiress to the Amazon throne. Future queen of the mightiest race of women the world has ever known."

Slowly, she then shook her head, "It's an honorable title, Mother." she said, "But I know it can never bring me happiness. At least, not the kind of happiness I want."

She turned away from the picture and then abruptly looked back at it.

"No I'm not ungrateful for what you've given me for all these years," her voice grew slightly cold, "No daughter could ever appreciate more the love and wisdom you've given me. But Mother, ever since I found Steve on Paradise Island and began to have feelings for him, I realized that for all the superiority of our knowledge, strength and sisterhood, our way can never provide total happiness. The kind of happiness I only know when I'm with Steve."

The coy smile returned to her face, "I know what you're thinking now. How can any man provide such happiness? I'll tell you how, Mother. Because after 2500 years, you know less about men than you really think. You've forgotten all about the ones who are noble and compassionate, and who understand what women have to offer for the world. Men who treat women as their equal, not their slave."

Her face drew within an inch of her mother's image, "Steve is such a man. Think about that before you judge me any further. The tide of history is with the men like Steve. The end of this war is just a beginning for the forces of good, and the opportunities for women. And I want to be here to see it all happen."

With that, Diana calmly placed the picture face-down.

"Goodnight Mother," she whispered, "I'm so glad we had this talk."

And then she turned off the light and went to bed.

The next morning, Diana was in the office already busily at work, when the door opened and a slightly disheveled Etta entered.

"Good morning," she smiled at her, "How was Chief Hallahan?"

Etta let out a dreamy sigh, "Perfection," she said, "Absolute perfection. I've never had a more wonderful night."

"Good for you," Diana grinned.

"How was your evening?" she went over to the file cabinet and began gathering folders.

"Uneventful," she said sweetly.

Etta dropped several folders in near exasperation, "Diana," she said, "When are you going to learn to get out of that shell of yours and live life to the fullest?"

"Oh, I think any day now," Diana folded her hands and kept smiling, "Any day now."

"I can hardly wait to see that," Etta motioned the folders toward her, "That's a sight I've always thought I'd never see."

"You'll see it," she leaned back, "Just wait."

Just then, the door opened and Steve entered, "Good morning Diana, Etta," he threw several folders on the table, "This is the latest on all Nazi spies still at large. Try to get it organized according to priority."

"Yes sir," Diana picked them up and for a brief instant their eyes made contact. Steve cracked the tiniest of smiles, and then his expression resumed its all-business demeanor.

"Steve," Diana held one folder up, "This one isn't necessary, is it? Colonel Dietrich Bolle?"

He came over and looked down at it, "I guess it isn't." he took it and handed it to Etta, "Etta take this over to the JAG's office. He'll be needing it more than we do."

"Yes sir," she took it and left.

When they were alone, Steve's expression softened and he reclined in his chair, "I had to get Etta out of the room so I could bring you up-to-date on the Manhattan Project, Diana."

She frowned slightly, "Shouldn't that wait until the test next week?"

"Officially yes. But I think I can trust you, can't I?" he grinned.

"You're forgetting something," Diana's tone was matter-of-fact, "Yeoman Prince is not to know about this. Only Wonder Woman."

He smiled sheepishly.

"Steve," her voice grew coy, but equally firm, "You're violating the guidelines we established last night."

"I can't help it," Steve shrugged, "All I can think about when I see you is my beautiful Wonder Woman. Now that we've let it out, I'll never be able to separate your personalities again."

"Just try to hold out a little longer. Until after the test of this mysterious, wonderful project that will end the war."

He absently looked down at the floor, "All right," he smiled, "Next week then. That's when we head out to New Mexico."

"Good," she came up and gave him an affectionate kiss on the cheek, "Now be a good soldier and let me get back to the work you're still paying me for."

"Aye-aye sir," he gave her a smart salute and sat down.

Diana chuckled and went back to her files.

SS Colonel Dietrich Bolle sat alone in his Washington MPD cell, brooding with rage over the circumstances that had led to his capture. To have been beaten by Steve Trevor, he could have accepted with dignity. But to be beaten by this bizarre Wonder Woman was too much for his Nazi psyche to accept. It went against every precept he'd rigidly followed since becoming a Nazi in 1933, when he and his brother had taken part in the burning of the Reichstag.

If there were some way to escape this infernal prison, then he would make both of them pay. Particularly her. This Wonder Woman would learn the full meaning of where a woman's true place was.

Just then, a policeman came up and unlocked his cell. Alongside the policeman was a uniformed Army captain.

"What is going on?" he demanded.

The captain gave him a contemptuous smirk, "You're being transferred to a more isolated cell at Fort Myer."

"I protest this treatment," he said, "I am a prisoner of war who is being denied due treatment under the Geneva Convention."

"In case you've forgotten, Colonel, your war is over," the captain's voice grew taunting, "The Geneva Convention doesn't apply to you. You're going to stand trial for attempted murder."

The police guard entered and led the defiant Bolle out. The captain then pulled out a pair of handcuffs and placed them around Bolle's wrist, and then his own.

The captain then led Bolle through the station, and then outside to a waiting Army staff car. He shoved Bolle into the back, motioned to the driver, and the car pulled out.

For five minutes, as they drove through Washington, headed northwest to Fort Myer, there was nothing but cold silence in the car. Bolle kept staring straight ahead in obvious rage, while the captain kept looking at him with the same contemptuous smirk.

Finally, the captain broke it, "Some thousand year Reich, wasn't it, Colonel?"

"This is but a temporary triumph for your decadent system," Bolle refused to look at him, "You can never win in the long term."

"I'll bet," his smirk widened.

Suddenly, one mile from Fort Myer, the car began slowing down.

"What's going on?" the captain looked up at the driver.

The driver pulled the car to a stop alongside the road.

"Sergeant," the captain repeated, his voice growing testy, "What's going on?"

The driver then wheeled around and pointed a gun in the captain's face, "This, captain," he said coldly, "This."

The captain's mouth fell open in stunned shock. Before he could utter a sound, the driver fired twice, killing him instantly.

Bolle frowned in disbelief at the sudden turn of events, "What's going on?"

"Shut up and quit wasting time," the driver said as he got out of the car, "Get the key from him and free yourself."

The SS Colonel reached into the captain's jacket and pulled out the key. A moment later, he was free and had gotten out of the car.

"We have to get moving," the driver said, "Our safe house is ten miles away. Come."

Happy at his newfound freedom, but still confused by what was going on, Bolle began following him off the road and into the Virginia woods.

"What?" Steve's face was a mask of disbelief as he talked on the phone, "How could that happen?"

There was a long pause as Steve listened, with Diana watching in concern.

"I see," he sighed, "Keep me informed," he then hung up.

"What happened?" Diana asked.

"Dietrich Bolle's escaped," Steve's voice was grave, "Someone, we don't know who, took the place of the sergeant who was driving the staff car to Fort Myer. They killed the intelligence officer who was handcuffed to Bolle and abandoned the car one mile from Fort Myer."

Diana looked shocked, "How did they do that?"

"They found the original driver, tied up and gagged in a storage closet on the base," Steve said, "He doesn't know who did it. Someone just came up behind him and knocked him out with a club. He never even saw his face."

"Steve this is really serious," her voice grew concerned, "Bolle's going to make another attempt on your life. You know that."

"I guess so," he sighed, "But that's a risk I'm going to have to live with for the time being."

She then came up to him with a determined look on her face, "Steve," she said firmly, "Until he's been recaptured, I'm not going to let you out of my sight."

He started to open his mouth, as if to protest, but then he caught himself.

"Sorry," he said, "For a split second, with you looking the way you do now, I forgot."

"That's okay," she smiled thinly.

"I really appreciate the help, Diana," he said with gratitude, "You've done a lot for me, and I'm not about to start refusing you. I only hope you won't be exposing yourself to any risks."

"I won't," she removed her glasses and looked deep into his eyes, "I made a promise three years ago that I'd always be there to protect you, and I've never let anything stop me from keeping that promise."

He rose from his chair and put his arms around her, "How did I ever become so blessed," he said, "To have an angel like you?"

They shared a brief passionate kiss, and then they quietly went back to work.

"All right," Bolle said, as he sat at the kitchen table of the safe house deep in the Virginia countryside, where three men towered above him, "What's this all about?"

The phony sergeant smirked, "The three of us, Herr Oberst, represent the last surviving members of your brother's organization, the Iron Brigade. I am Oberleutnant Kurt Hauser, and these are Wachtmeister's Karl Becker and Hans Sturber. When we heard about your arrest, we felt we owed it to his memory to free you."

"I appreciate that," Bolle said, "And I know I can count on you to further honor his memory, by helping me kill Colonel Trevor."

The three men exchanged glances.

"Herr Oberst," Becker, a heavyset blonde, said, "I'm afraid that won't be possible for now. Much as we despise Colonel Trevor, he is virtually an impregnable target. And you know the reason why."

"That infernal woman?" Bolle bristled, "So I was caught off guard. That won't happen again."

"Herr Oberst," this from Sturber, "What happened to you was not an aberration. Wonder Woman cannot be stopped. To even try, would be foolish suicide. Therefore, it would be wise to turn your thoughts away from Colonel Trevor as we have done, and toward more productive endeavors."

"What do you mean?" Bolle's face contorted, "What is there left for any of us, that could be more important than revenge?"

Kurt Hauser chuckled, "Herr Oberst," he said, "You misperceive our operation. When the Iron Brigade was broken up, all of us became resigned to the fact that the Third Reich was doomed. We have since found new employment."

Bolle stared at him.

"We now work for the Russians," Hauser said, "And it's our hope that you will join us in our efforts."

The SS colonel's face contorted into revulsion, "You work for the Russians?" his body began to tremble, "Those barbaric Bolsheviks?"

"I realize how difficult that is to believe, Herr Oberst," Hauser went on, "But I think it should be obvious to you, that America and Russia now represent the only two powers that will dictate the future of the world. And while there will always be elements of Bolshevism that we will never be comfortable with, it should be obvious to you that this is the only side to cast lots with."

Grim faced, Bolle slammed his fist against the table, "You have committed treason against the Reich you swore allegiance to."

"That's all irrelevant now for all time, Herr Oberst," Becker said pointedly, "Start dealing with realities. You can either try to flee to South America and join Eichmann, Mengele, and Borrmann, and waste away for the rest of your life dreaming empty dreams of restoring the Reich. Or you can let yourself be captured by the Americans, who will try you for attempted murder and put you in jail. Or you can put your talents to work for the only remaining power that will bring order to the world."

"You should give it a try, Herr Oberst," Sturber chimed in, "You will find that national socialism and communism have much in common."

"Certainly a lot more than with democratic liberal capitalism," Hauser laced his words with sarcasm, which brought laughter from the other two.

Bolle uneasily drummed his fingers on the table.

"All right," he said finally, "What do you have in mind?"

An hour later, a subdued Bolle closed the makeshift file folder that was labeled crudely, 'Manhattan Projekt.'

"This is incredible," he said, "Are the Americans really this close to success?"

"Our man inside the project confirms that a test will take place sometime in July," Hauser said, "What we need you to do, is to meet him again and find out if it has happened. If it has, then we want his complete observations of the test. If not, then you are to stay in New Mexico until it takes place, and to wait for his report."

"Why do you need me?" Bolle frowned, "What about your normal contact with this man?"

"He's unable to travel to New Mexico at the present time," Becker said, "Someone else has to do it."

"I see," Bolle looked down at the folder, "According to this, you have two men inside the project."

"Yes," Hauser nodded, "The other is a shop machinist corporal, who helped build one of the components. But you won't need to contact him. He's already passed along everything he can possibly know."

"And besides, you wouldn't like dealing with him," Sturber said with a tinge of sarcasm, "His name is David Greenglass."

Bolle's expression darkened, "If I am to find myself working with Jews, then I doubt very much I'll be inclined to work for your cause."

Hauser laughed in a disarming manner, "The American Jews who work in our network are all fools. Idealists in search of a cause, which they have found through Comrade Stalin. Rest assured, Herr Oberst, the ultimate imposition of world socialism will bring no special favors to the Jews, or any other inferior race."

"It's really best that you discard your Nazi baggage, Herr Oberst," Becker said in that pointed tone, "The Third Reich is dead. Nazism is dead. You must learn to change with the times, if you still wish to see world order achieved."

Bolle slowly shook his head, "You're asking too much of me. I'm an SS Standartenfuhrer. I cannot simply discard everything I've been taught about Bolshevism."

"Come, come, Herr Oberst," there was less warmth in Hauser's voice, "You forget your recent history. Germany and Russia were once allies. And had we stayed allies, then the Third Reich would have survived. Instead, Herr Hitler forgot who the real enemy was when he decided to break the Pact with Stalin and invade Russia before he'd conquered the British and the Americans."

Bolle slouched slightly in his chair, "I won't argue that point."

"And you shouldn't be arguing with us," Hauser looked him in the eye, "The Soviet Union is the only power left that can one day destroy this infernal menace of democracy and liberal capitalism. The menace that allows every form of decadence to run rampant. If we are to give her a head start in this battle, we must not allow the Americans to develop an advantage in this new weaponry."

"Already, the battle lines are being drawn up for World War III, Herr Oberst," Sturber's tone was more quiet, but equally blunt, "There will one day be conflict between East and West for ultimate control of the world. Perhaps not in this generation, but most certainly in the next. It is inevitable. Even if you choose not to help us, someone else will. It is in your best interest, that you become part of the forward tide of History."

"And if I refuse?"

Hauser smiled thinly and pulled out the pistol he'd used to kill the Army captain.

"I wouldn't recommend that, Herr Oberst. As much as we'd prefer not to dishonor your brother's memory, you will have left us with no choice."

"And don't think you can double-cross us, Herr Oberst," Becker jumped in, "The NKVD is even more ruthless than the SS when it comes to that."

For a moment, there was only silence from Bolle.

Finally, the SS colonel sagged in his chair and threw up his hands in resignation.

"Very well," he said, "I'll do it."

Chapter Five

July 7, 1945

General Blankenship idly finished reading the morning edition of the Washington Post, where one story dominated the headlines. Truman Leaves For Potsdam Summit. He then looked back at the latest Manhattan Project information from Secretary of War Henry Stimson and let out a mild chuckle. The motion of events was starting to pick up.

His phone buzzed and he promptly answered it, "Yes, Etta?"

"Colonel Trevor and Wonder Woman are here, sir."

"Good, send them in."

The door to Blankenship's office opened and Steve entered, followed by Wonder Woman, who wore an American flag design cape over her costume.

"Steve," the general took only a brief instant shaking Steve's hand and then moved over to Wonder Woman, "And Wonder Woman it's good to see you again. It's been too long."

"It's always an honor, sir." she smiled warmly.

"Sit down and make yourself comfortable," he motioned to the two chairs in front of his desk, "And I'll try to bring you up to date on what the Manhattan Project is all about."

"I'm very interested in knowing," she said, "From what Steve tells me, it will mean not having to invade the Japanese mainland."

Blankenship nodded, "That's what we're counting on," he said, "Has Steve told you exactly what kind of weapon it is?"

"No, he hasn't," she looked over at Steve and smiled.

"I told her that procedure dictated it come from you, General," Steve returned her smile.

The general smiled as well, "I'll try to explain it as best as I can. Before I do, I should ask you if you're familiar with the principal of developing the power of the atom."

"Of course," she said, "I'm familiar with what happened at Chicago three years ago, when the first nuclear reaction took place. Atomic energy can one day serve many needs."

"Indeed," said Blankenship, "And the first need it's going to serve is ending the war."

It took Wonder Woman almost a minute to grasp the general's words. When it finally sunk in, a cloud passed over her face.

"General," she said as evenly as she could, "Are you telling me that the Manhattan Project is an atomic weapon?"

The general nodded slowly, "We've had a team of scientists and men developing it for the last three years in the utmost secrecy. Our first concern was beating the Germans to it. Now, we need it to avoid going ahead with the invasion of Japan."

Wonder Woman's expression hardened into one of disbelief. Uneasily, Steve shot a glance at her and began to absently chew on his thumbnail.

"General," her neutral voice belied her expression, "Do you intend to directly use this weapon against Japan?"

"That's what it looks like," Blankenship said, "The test takes place on July 16. If it goes off all right, then Japan will be given a final ultimatum of unconditional surrender at the end of the Potsdam summit. If Japan refuses, then we plan to go ahead with aerial drops on pre-selected targets."

"I see," Wonder Woman nodded in understanding, but her expression remained somewhat dubious, "And what is to become of these weapons once the war is over?"

Blankenship shrugged, "That, I wouldn't know anything about."

"But General," she protested slightly, "Surely the people who've made this weapon possible realize the danger of letting this weapon become mass-produced. I recognize fully the need to use it on a one-time only basis to end the war, but if our leaders are contemplating this as the start of developing a full-scale atomic arsenal..." she trailed off, unable to find the right words.

Blankenship seemed puzzled by her reaction, while Steve began to uncomfortably slouch in his chair.

"Wonder Woman," the general said gently, "I haven't the vaguest notion of what role atomic weapons will play in the post-war world. But I do know, that if they work we can't ever put the genie back in the bottle. The capability will exist for anyone to develop it, including potential enemies. No one who's worked on this project seriously thinks that when the war is over, we can just burn all the blueprints and forget that it ever existed."

"I-" she started and then broke off, sighed and tried to start over, "General, Steve, I want to apologize for the way I'm acting. It's just that I've long been aware of what the power of nuclear energy released in a weapon can do, and all I can see is a recurring image of mass destruction. If these weapons are to become the norm in warfare from now on, the consequences would be horrifying for all of humanity."

"I doubt very much that you'll ever see atom bombs used with the same regularity as conventional weapons," the general tried to inject a note of reassurance, "My understanding is that if the world's nuclear stockpile can't be placed under some form of international control, then it will in all probability become a weapon of last resort, as it’s being used now."

"I wish I could be convinced of that, General," she said sadly, "But it will be some time before I can come to term with these doubts I'm feeling."

She then straightened herself and her voice tried to regain an upbeat tone, "But I realize that's all in the future and that the immediate concern is using it to end the war. And I'd be most honored to witness the test and put in an appearance for the soldiers stationed there."

"I'm glad to hear that," Blankenship smiled and seemed to relax, "I can't attend the test myself, but you and Steve will be leaving on the 12th for Albuquerque. You'll be staying with the other VIP's who've been invited to witness the test. The general tour will take up the next three days, the personal appearance for the men on the 15th, and the test on the 16th."

"That will be fine," Wonder Woman smiled, "I'll be looking forward to it."

"I'm sure you'll find the experience most illuminating," the general rose, "I have to leave now for a meeting with General Marshall. In the meantime, I want to say again how much we appreciate your coming. And I know I'm speaking for the entire War Department when I tell you that you have our eternal gratitude for everything you've done for the war effort. Hopefully, we'll be able to give you some proper recognition for all that, sometime in the future."

"That means a lot to me, General," Wonder Woman seemed touched, "Just knowing that I was able to do my job in helping America destroy the evil of Nazism for all time. No further honors are necessary."

"They will be," Blankenship wryly smiled as he shook hands with her, "They will be." and after shaking hands with Steve, he left the office.

Alone, Steve slowly turned around and looked at her. The dark cloud of unease had returned to her face.

"Diana," he said gently, "Are you going to be all right?"

"I'll be fine," her voice was abrupt, "I'll be fine."

"You had me worried for a minute," he said.

"Steve," she looked up at him, "Right now, I don't want to talk about it. I--" she broke off and uneasily exhaled, "Steve, I know we agreed on lunch, but I think I'd rather go back to my apartment for awhile. I need to think."

Steve looked stunned.

"I'll, I'll call you later, I--"

"Diana," he interrupted gently, trying to conceal the hurt in his voice, "Aren't you forgetting something?"

Diana frowned, "I don't understand."

"Colonel Dietrich Bolle," he said patiently, "Or have you changed your mind?"

She flushed in embarrassment, "Oh God, no Steve. No. No, I won't leave you. I, I'm sorry about that."

"Forget it," he said with a trace of sadness, "I think maybe for your sake, you should go back to your apartment. I'll be fine."

"No, Steve," she clasped his hand, "Forgive me. I just got distracted. I didn't mean to."

"It's all right," his voice returned to its gentle, soothing tone, "I'm sorry I got on you for that."

But inside, Steve still felt an enormous sense of unease. If the Manhattan Project could rattle her to the point of forgetting about Bolle, then what might happen later on?

An answer he didn't want to consider popped into the back of his mind. He quickly pushed it away, and tried to bury it, hoping he never had to consider again.

But the answer that Steve did not want to consider, was all that raged through Diana's mind that night, as she lay alone in the guest bedroom of Steve's apartment, sprawled out on the bed.

Time and again, she thought of the story of Pandora, that her mother had told her about many times during her childhood. The story of the foolish girl who'd opened the box that unleashed the forces of evil on the world, and had been unable to put them back in. She felt now, as if she were living through a present day parallel to the story.

In addition to that, she found the doubts that she'd thought she'd conquered, returning. If mankind was about to unleash this terror of atomic weapons on the world, then how could she justify her belief that man was moving forward, away from the ways of war and barbarism? Even if the weapons were developed by good men in the United States, could they effectively safeguard them from falling into the hands of evil?

She could hear her mother's voice. That soft, regal voice that had been her only source of knowledge for more than 2000 years, telling her that the answer was no. The history of man showed time and again, that the evil, warlike side of man was always stronger. Perhaps not strong enough to let those like Hitler endure, but strong enough to bring them to power at least. And in a new world of such terrible weapons of destructive power, would there be any chance for the forces of good to defeat the next Hitler? Would the rise of a new Hitler be enough to set forward the very end of humanity itself, in a war waged exclusively with atomic weapons?

There's nothing you can do about it, Diana, she heard Hippolyte's voice echo in her mind. There's nothing you can do. Man will use these terrible weapons to fight wars that you will never be able to prevent. Wars that will finally see man's martial aggressiveness finally destroy himself. Your place is not with them. Your place is with your sisters on Paradise Island, where we will preserve the ways of peace and harmony for eternity.

She looked up at the ceiling, and she found herself clutching the sheets with her hands, as she wrestled with the tension in her mind, heart, and soul.

Diana glanced over at the end table, and noticed Steve's Bible that she'd been reading in her spare time. She'd always been fascinated by the Judeo-Christian religion more than any of the others she had studied. There had even been fleeting moments when she’d wondered if it was possible for an Amazonian like herself to embrace it as her own. Whether as a Christian who accepted Jesus Christ as the Messiah, or as a Jew who did not, she wasn't sure, but certainly as one who believed in the idea of a single God who had created the world and was in ultimate control of human history. Granted, it was so far from the religion she'd been brought up with, but Diana found it remarkable that its basic core philosophy had been able to endure in the world for so long. Embodied by a philosophy of peace and love not too dissimilar from her own, particularly in the phrase, "Blessed are the peacemakers."

But now, as she questioned her desire to stay in America, she now questioned her reasons for doubting the reality of the Greco-Roman polytheism of her people, centered around Aphrodite. The test of a religion was its ability to endure, she had said. But maybe it hadn't been able to endure because of mankind's corruptness in the world he controlled. Maybe mankind didn't worship at the altar of Ares anymore, but perhaps he still did his bidding. Maybe the truth could only have endured on Paradise Island, the center of higher knowledge.

As Diana thought more about Paradise Island, she found herself closing her eyes and smiling as memories of her home came back to her. Memories that had grown dim in the last three years, but now seemed vivid. Happy memories of the home she loved. The home where she could escape from the evil and fear of the world.

But then Diana bolted upright and opened her eyes as another thought entered her mind. Steve. What about Steve? The man she loved. The man for whom she'd have gladly given up Paradise Island. The man she wanted to marry, and have children with.

Her love for Steve felt just as intense as it had before. But now, with her doubts about the future, could she make him happy as his wife? Would she be forcing herself to endure a life of misery, filled with homesickness for Paradise Island and depression about the future, and in the end destroying the love they felt?

Questions, questions. Unending questions. Questions she'd never wanted to confront, but now threatened to destroy her unless she answered them soon.

She folded her hands as if she wanted to pray, but then realized that she didn't know who to pray to. To Aphrodite, the sacred goddess of her people, whose existence she doubted but who nonetheless embodied the values she felt closer too? Or to the mysterious single God, who embodied values that seemed irreconcilable with the evil that existed in the world?

As if to seek temporary comfort from that set of questions, she began reciting the prayers to Aphrodite she'd been taught as a child, only because it was the only way she knew how to pray. "Help me," she whispered again and again when she was through, "Help me know what is right."

In the other room, Steve sat at his desk trying to chase the unease from his mind, and finding that it only made him dwell on it even more.

Finally, like Diana, he closed his eyes and prayed, but with the confident serenity of a faith he'd known all his life. "Lord Jesus," he whispered, "Right now, the woman I love, the woman I believe You have led me to, is troubled. Even though she is not a believer, I ask that You show her Your divine love and guidance, and help her to ease the doubts that I know she feels. Help her to realize, as I have, the peace that comes in knowing that You are in ultimate control of the world. All this I pray, in Your name, Amen."

And then, he too, turned off the light and went to bed.

At the same moment that Steve and Diana honored their religions and went to sleep, Dietrich Bolle was wide awake aboard the first leg of a Pan Am flight from Washington to Albuquerque, offering no prayers to a God he had never believed in.

For the tenth time, he glanced at his reflection in the window, marveling at how different he looked. The moustache was gone now, and the grayish hair dyed to its original black color. Without question, it made him look fifteen years younger, almost like an innocent schoolboy.

But inside, the determined venom that had made him one of the most ruthless officers in the SS, still raged. And how he was going to be able to channel it to work for the Russians with a clear conscience, he still had no idea.

For now though, he had no choice but to go through the motions of helping the Russians. But sooner or later, he'd find a way to get back at the only target he was interested in. Colonel Steve Trevor and that infernal bitch called Wonder Woman. Then maybe, with his thirst for revenge satisfied, he could finally look ahead with a clear conscience.

But for now, as he looked out the window at the nighttime landscape and finished his drink, his immediate concern lay with a scientist from inside the Manhattan Project, with whom he would try to make first contact with sometime tomorrow.

Chapter Six: July 12, 1945

Sleep had not come easy to Diana, the last several days. So much so, that she had sneaked a sleeping pill from Steve's medicine chest to try and relax herself on this night.

But this time, the anxiety and restlessness that had previously kept her awake, now invaded her sleep.

Her dream began peacefully, filled with the warmly reassuring sights of Steve, Etta and all her friends. Then, images of people at work and play all over Washington. Sights that had become intimately familiar to her these last three years.

Then, suddenly the images froze. And then, a horrible, ugly light bathed the scene, burning in intensity. The images suddenly began turning into skeletal forms, like an X-ray. And then, they disappeared, and the light grew blinding...

Diana abruptly awoke, her body in a cold sweat. For a moment, she sat upright, exhaling repeatedly in a mixture of horror and relief.

"Hera help me," she whispered as she wiped her brow, "Oh dear Hera and Aphrodite, no."

She knew what it meant. Her unconscious mind had envisioned a war fought with atomic weapons. Something, that would seem all but inevitable if this test came off.

Diana pulled her legs up to her, and stared down in deep contemplation. Inside, anxiety and fear raged with an intensity she'd never felt before.

And all this from a dream of what it might look like. How would she react, and what nightmares would invade her mind when she witnessed the real thing in just six more days?

She shuddered even more, as she contemplated that latter thought. And now, a dawning realization was growing inside her as well. Nothing would ever be able to chase these demons from her mind. If anything, they would only grow as atomic weapons were developed even further. There would be more nightmares, more anxiety, more uncertainty. The story of Pandora would be repeated on an even more grotesque scale. And this time, the demons unleashed might very well mean the end of mankind and his civilization.

The never-ending uncertainty would always be there if she decided to spend the rest of her life in America. Was all that worth it? Even with the man she loved, would she ever know a life of peace and calm in a world where the terror of atomic destruction could be unleashed any second?

No, Diana, she could hear Hipployte's voice once again. You can never know peace in the world of men. This weapon means the beginning of the end for them. You know that.

But Steve, her mind cried out, what about Steve? How can I envision life without Steve? I love him.

Diana exhaled again, and folded her arms. She knew what she wanted. She wanted the safe tranquility of Paradise Island and Steve. And she had to give up one of them.

But wait, she thought. Why did she have to give up one? What was there that said she could not have both? What if she could persuade Steve to see the hopelessness of the world situation and come with her to Paradise Island? And then, they could be together forever, in total peace and harmony.

Oh yes, Mother would object to the presence of any man on Paradise Island. But maybe it was time for Diana to start pulling some weight as the future queen of the Amazons. Maybe it was time to force some change on the way things had been. Maybe it was time for the women of Paradise Island to be free to know love again. To bring in men who could learn the ways of peace and harmony that reigned over Paradise Island.

Yes, she thought with determination. Yes, by Hera, she would fight for all that. And she'd win. She'd enlist all the women she could to her cause, and then Hippolyte would have to give in. And if she didn't, then Diana would play her trump card. It didn't matter whether Hippolyte agreed to it or not. Diana would implement her ideas the day she officially became queen, so it made no difference in the long-run whether Hippolyte liked it or not. She couldn't stop it.

For the first time, Diana felt the anxiety dissipate. Now that she knew how to handle Mother, the next question was how to convince Steve to join her.

But why should that present any problems? Steve had no living family. He had no ties to this world that would be difficult to give up. Surely, Steve would see the obvious. That their future didn't belong here, in the world of fear, anxiety and war that would one day destroy itself. It belonged on Paradise Island.

Just then, her plotting and planning was disrupted by the sound of Steve lightly knocking on the door.

"Diana?" she heard his muffled voice call.

"In a minute, Steve," she threw back the sheets, stood up and did her magical pirouette that transformed her into her Wonder Woman costume. After adjusting it slightly, she went up to the door and opened it.

Steve was already showered and dressed, his uniform immaculately straight, "Hi," he smiled, "Ready for a day of traveling?"

"Totally," she returned the smile, "Are we flying a military or commercial plane?"

"Strictly military," he said, "We wouldn't want a planeload of civilians going ga-ga for twelve hours at the sight of you, would we?"

"I still say we should have taken my own plane."

"Uh-uh," Steve shook his head, "Wonder Woman still has too many trade secrets that shouldn't get out yet. Especially the invisible plane."

"You'll regret that when the MATS flight makes you airsick and takes twice as long," Diana coyly smiled and put her arms around him.

"All in the line of duty," he grinned, "Just like this," and he pulled her to him and they kissed.

As Diana relaxed in their passionate kiss, she thought again of how much she needed both things that she loved. And of her determination to keep both for the rest of her life.

And she swore by Aphrodite and Hera that nothing would prevent her from having both. Nothing at all.

"Mmmmm," Steve murmured in delight as he nuzzled her neck, "How fast could your plane get us there?"

"Three hours," she whispered back as her body tingled with pleasure.

He let out a sigh of resignation, "If I weren't a religious man with a strict set of sexual morals, I'd be tempted to let us use the extra nine hours by staying here and fooling around."

"You won't have to wait much longer," she stepped back and brushed her finger across his lips, "It will all come soon."

"Which is one reason why I hope this test goes off without a hitch," Steve's voice returned to a more businesslike level, "If this thing doesn't work, then we'll have to get prepared for Operation Olympic. The invasion of Japan and something no one’s tried since the Mongols failed in the 13^th century."

Diana's lips thinned into a straight line. His offhand remark made her wonder when the time would be right to tell Steve about the plans she had for them.

"Let's get going," she managed to smile.

Steve returned it and arm-in-arm, they left the apartment to begin their long-day's journey to New Mexico.

At the edge of the Castillo Bridge, overlooking the Santa Fe river outside Santa Fe, Dietrich Bolle impatiently lit his sixth cigarette in the last fifteen minutes and paced back and forth. For five days, since his arrival in Albuquerque, he'd wanted only to get this meeting with the Manhattan Project scientist done with. And then, one delay after the other as his initial phone call to the scientist produced suspicion and skepticism because it wasn't the normal contact. Finally, the coded phone call from the scientist this morning, telling him to meet him here, all the way up in Santa Fe, 200 miles away.

If this is how the Russians gather intelligence, then it'll be a miracle if they can beat the Americans.

He looked down Alameda Street and saw a battered Buick slowly coming toward him. He could hear repetitive thuds, caused by patched-up tires rolling over the road surface.

Bolle crushed his cigarette with his heel and smiled faintly. That had to be him.

As the car pulled up beside him, Bolle did a quick mental check of what the file had said about this man. A native German, who had fled the Nazi regime in 1934 because of his Communist associations. Now a British citizen, he had been recruited for the Manhattan Project as part of the team of British physicists attached to the project. An active Soviet agent since 1942. Outstanding personal characteristics: a fierce streak of independence that often bred a deep self-arrogance, and a rigid devotion to Communist ideology.

Subject's name: Klaus Emil Fuchs.

The passenger door opened and Bolle got in. He closed the door and then looked at the driver.

Staring back at him was a wiry, frail man of about average height. He was dressed in a brown leather jacket and an open collared shirt, and his eyes were magnified by a pair of tortoise-shell glasses that made him resemble an owl.

"Herr Doktor?" Bolle casually inquired.

"English," Klaus Fuchs snapped impatiently as he shifted the car into drive, "Talk English."

Bolle settled back in the seat and struggled desperately to remain polite. "My apologies, Herr Doctor. I only thought--"

"Let's keep the formalities to a minimum," the scientist's tone was brusque, "All I know about you is that you're a former Nazi who's decided to join the Russians for reasons of pure opportunism. That's all I ever want to know, because if I learn anything more, I probably won't be able to get through this nauseating experience of having to work with you."

The SS colonel bit his tongue, as he tried to keep the rage boiling inside him from exploding. If he fouled this up, it would be his head.

"Very well," Bolle said evenly, "I--"

"I'm only doing this because I received a call from Harry Gold assuring me that I could trust you, and that he had legitimate reasons for not being able to make the trip out here. As far as I'm concerned, every last one of you hunds who ever wore the Nazi uniform should be shot."

"Herr Doctor," Bolle's patience was straining, "What you think of me and what I once was, is not relevant. What should matter to you is that I'm now working for the same cause you so passionately believe in. The longer you sit and insult me, the less good you are doing that cause."

"I don't think so," he said flippantly, "From what Harry implied, you've been caught in a difficult position that forces you to take it, no matter what."

Harry Gold, Bolle thought in disgust. How many more Jews were there in this ridiculous operation? In addition to Gold, he'd learned that the brother-in-law of the other contact, David Greenglass, was also active in the atom spy network. A man named Julius Rosenberg.

What on earth ever possessed Hauser, Becker and Sturber to join this operation? And of all people, why did he have to be thrust into it?

Maybe an American jail would have been better for my sanity.

"Herr Doctor," he barely managed to get his words out, "Can we return to the issue at hand?"

"Very well," Fuchs' voice became civil for the first time, "The test will take place next Sunday, July 16th, sometime early in the morning."

"Next Sunday?" Bolle's expression grew crestfallen, "That's four days."

"So it is," the physicist said curtly, "I will be witnessing the test personally. On the 24th, I will make contact with you again and hand over to you my complete notes on the test."

"And I'm supposed to stay in this godforsaken hellhole for the next two weeks and wait?"

"It would seem so," Fuchs continued to avoid looking at him, keeping his eyes straight ahead on the open road, "But that's for you to decide. In the meantime, I can fill you in on the steps that have been taken since my last contact with Harry Gold. They should be of interest to your superiors, if not to yourself."

Again, Bolle bit his tongue as he took out a notepad and pen.

"General Groves has been most anxious to get this test off by mid-July," Fuchs began, "Particularly while the Potsdam summit is going on. President Truman would much prefer to learn of a successful test while he's there and be able to break the news to Marshal Stalin personally..."

As Fuchs continued to drive through the streets of Santa Fe, Bolle patiently took notes, trying to keep up with what the scientist revealed. He took them in silence, sensing that Fuchs had no desire to be interrupted.

"....The VIP's are arriving in Albuquerque tonight. Most of them are scientific representatives who've only known the general details of the project. There's also one or two representatives from the press, to write up the exclusive stories when this becomes public, some top military men, and," he let out a light chuckle, "And the most bizarre VIP in the lot. Wonder Woman."

Bolle stopped writing and looked over at Fuchs in bewilderment, "Wonder Woman is going to be here for the test?"

"Yes," Fuchs continued looking ahead, "She's going to make some personal appearance for the men at base camp on Saturday, the 15th, a sort of morale boosting show for all the unfortunate GI's who've been without a furlough since April and yearn for the sight of a pretty body."

The ex-SS colonel began tapping his pen against the paper in contemplation.

"I couldn't believe it when I heard it," Fuchs went on, "But from what I've heard, Secretary Stimson owed General Blankenship a favor, and that meant letting Wonder Woman and that aide of his come see everything."

"His aide?" Bolle's head darted up, "Colonel Steve Trevor?"

"I wouldn't know his name," the scientist shrugged and then glanced at him for the first time, "Why should that matter to you?"

He relaxed slightly and settled back in his seat, "Nothing, nothing. Go on."

Thirty minutes later, Fuchs pulled his lumbering car into the Santa Fe bus station.

"Tomorrow, the bomb will be transported from Los Alamos to the Trinity test site. That's everything that has happened up to now," the scientist said in the same neutral tone, "I've summarized all the political factors behind the test, the test location, and the manner in which it will take place. All that's left is the test itself."

"This has been most fascinating, Herr Doctor," Bolle said, "I look forward to our next meeting. When and where?"

"As I said earlier, Monday the 24th," Fuchs said, "That should allow enough time in case the test is delayed at the last minute."

"The same place?"

"No," he shook his head, "Next time, at a small adobe church outside the city. Here are the directions for you to give to the cab driver when you arrive in Santa Fe," he shoved him a slip of paper.

"Thank you," Bolle said, "I've enjoyed this very much."

"I haven't," an edge of contempt entered Fuchs' voice, "I hope our next meeting will be our last."

"Herr Doctor," Bolle opened the door and stepped out, "I work on the same side with you. So do a lot of other former Nazis. Don't think your cause can triumph so easily without our help."

"I'd prefer that our cause not be contaminated by men like you," the scientist looked at him with pure hate, "Because of men like you, and the terror you waged against us, my father was thrown in a concentration camp, my mother committed suicide, and my sister threw herself in front of a train."

Bolle stared back at him and said nothing.

"But I suppose that if we must recruit hunds like you to assure a speedier triumph of world socialism, perhaps it will have been worth it." he turned away and started up the car, "Good day."

"Good day," Bolle pushed the door shut and with disdain, watched him drive off.

As he turned and headed inside the station to take the bus back to Albuquerque, the Manhattan Project and the information Fuchs had given him were the furthest things from his mind.

It was well after nine in the evening when the MATS DC-3 that had left Washington twelve hours earlier, landed at Albuquerque airport. Seated alone together in the back, Wonder Woman gave the sleeping Steve a gentle nudge.

"Wake up Steve," she whispered softly, "We're finally here."

Slowly, Steve came to and rubbed his eyes, "Hoo boy, is it finally over?"

"It's over," she smiled down at him and stroked his forehead, "Was it worth it?"

"No," he came upright in his seat, "Next time, I'm going to let you talk me into using your plane."

Up front, the door opened and a short Army major came aboard.

"Colonel Trevor and Wonder Woman?" he said as he made his way back to them, "I'm Major Reynolds from Special Services. Welcome to Albuquerque."

"Thank you, Major," Wonder Woman smiled politely, "It's an honor to be here."

"Well I can assure you we appreciate your being here, Wonder Woman. I know that when we told the men last night that you were coming, they all jumped nine miles and still haven't come down," he grinned, "In the meantime, I'm here to escort you to the hotel. There's a staff car waiting on the runway so you can avoid going through the airport."

"That'll be fine," Steve rose from his seat, allowing Wonder Woman to get out as well, "When do we head out to the base camp?"

"Not until tomorrow, the 13th," Major Reynolds said, "That's when all the elements for the test will be in place. I'll be giving you both a full briefing at the hotel."

"All right, Major," Steve put his hat on, "Lead the way."

On an observation deck at the airport, Bolle stared through binoculars at the DC-3 that had just landed. He had come straight here since returning to Albuquerque three hours ago, and had staked himself out, watching every plane that had come in, hoping to catch a glimpse of the only quarry he was interested in.

His hopes were raised when he saw the staff car pull up in front of the stairs leading up to the aircraft. That meant there were definitely VIP's aboard.

And then, he saw two blurred uniformed men emerge followed by a bright gold and red costume that stood out in the night. He lifted his binoculars and grinned in satisfaction. It was her. That infernal bitch. And one of the two men had to be Trevor.

Now where was it that Fuchs said the VIP's would be staying? Oh yes, the Albuquerque Hilton.

He reentered the terminal entrance, and suddenly found himself face-to-face with the frowning visage of an airport security guard.

"So tell me mister," the guard said with an air of suspicion, "Did you have fun for three hours out there?"

"I like to watch planes," he said in flawless English and matched the guard's expression, "You've got a problem with that?"

The guard shrugged, "Just seems like a strange way to blow an evening."

"Then why do you work here?" Bolle let his voice drip with sarcasm as he walked past him without looking back.

If he had looked back, he would have seen the guard extend his middle finger at him.

"We'll be going in through a back entrance, once we arrive at the hotel," Major Reynolds said as the staff car drove through Albuquerque, "Sorry for the stealth, but General Groves didn't think it would be good to have Wonder Woman making a public scene and arousing local suspicion."

"That shouldn't have been a problem," Wonder Woman said as she rolled down the window to let the breeze blow in, "The public knows there's a military base so they wouldn't have anything to be suspicious about. I've made a dozen appearances at bases all over the country throughout the war."

The major shrugged, "That might be, but the general wouldn't have it any other way."

"I haven't seen General Groves in about four years, but I never knew him to be paranoid." Steve said off-handedly as he rolled down the window on his side.

Reynolds smirked, "When you're heading a project of this importance, Colonel, it does all sorts of things to you. Now that we're barely three days from the test, the security concerns are only heightening."

"Is there any danger of sabotage?" Wonder Woman asked.

"Not that we can tell, but we're certainly going to keep on our toes."

"Well now that Wonder Woman's here, Major, the general doesn't have to worry anymore," Steve said with a trace of pride that made her blush slightly, "Is he going to meet us tomorrow?"

Reynolds shook his head, "The general's on the west coast making a last tour of nuclear facilities there. He'll be here Saturday. I'll be your tour guide in the meantime, and I'll be letting the scientists from Los Alamos do all the talking when they show you around tomorrow."

The major then leaned back and smiled, "I'll tell you one thing, when this thing goes off we'll finally have the Japs right where we want them."

"Yes," Wonder Woman smiled weakly and looked out the window. The unease she'd been feeling, on and off ever since she'd learned about the bomb, was now returning. And with it, the unease about how she'd try to reveal her plans to Steve.

The dim glow of lights caused her to turn around and look out the rear windshield.

"Major," she said, "Is it my imagination, or are we being tailed?"

Reynolds turned around and looked, as did Steve. They could both see the bright headlights of a car, not twenty feet behind them.

"It's one car," Steve said, "But that probably doesn't mean anything."

The bright lights then veered off to one side.

"No problem," the major said, "He's pulling into the right lane. There's a light up ahead and he's probably going to turn off."

The car slowly came to a stop as the traffic light turned red. The other car, a dark Kaiser, pulled up to a stop alongside them.

Wonder Woman looked out the window and could see the driver, just six feet away. There was an innocent look to the youthful face, but there was something about the eyes...

Suddenly, the driver lifted his arm and tossed an object that landed through the open window, and into the back seat where Wonder Woman, Steve, and Reynolds were.

"What the--" Steve blurted as he felt the object hit his leg and bounce onto the floor.

"Get out of the car, it's a grenade!" she screamed as the other car roared off.

"Holy shit!" Reynolds barely had time to exclaim as Steve immediately opened his door and Wonder Woman shoved both of them out, while up front, the driver quickly opened his door and spilled out.

Wonder Woman took one helpless glance at the floor, but in the dark she couldn't see it. With all the speed of her Amazonian strength, she bolted out of the car and covered herself over the two officers.

The four of them had gotten barely ten feet from the car when a loud exploding pop erupted in the back. Smoke poured out of the vehicle, while the open doors blew off their hinges.

Wonder Woman lay on top of both Steve and Reynolds, shielding them both from the blast. Fortunately, it had confined its damage to inside the car, so that nothing had hit them.

After a minute, she allowed them to get to their feet. Together, they stared at the smoldering wreck of the staff car in total disbelief. Too stunned to speak.

In his rearview mirror, Bolle saw the staff car explode and he let out a long, evil laugh of triumph and victory, certain that the revenge he had sought for so long, was now his.

Now, he could go about his new responsibilities with a clear conscience.

An hour later, a subdued Steve and Wonder Woman sat in a hotel suite at the Albuquerque Hilton, while a still-shaken Reynolds nervously sipped from a coffee mug.

"You're sure it was Bolle?" Steve asked her pointedly.

"Not a hundred percent," she said, "The hair and face were different, but there was something about the eyes that seemed familiar."

"That's not enough to go on," Reynolds took another nervous slurp and set his mug down.

Steve gave the major an incredulous look, "Major, who else can we be talking about? This man Bolle, escaped from custody in Washington last week after he'd tried to murder me. It has to be him."

"Perhaps," Reynolds rose and began to pace up-and-down the room, "But it's hard for me to think that this murder attempt tonight, isn't connected with the project somehow."

"Granted," Trevor conceded, "There's a legitimate concern there. If Bolle knew I was going to be in Mew Mexico, then it’s possible he knows something about the reason why."

"And if that's true," Wonder Woman said, "Then it's possible that the organization that arranged his escape knows about it too."

"Good Lord," Steve sucked in his breath, as an uncomfortable thought dawned on him.

"What?" Reynolds stopped pacing and looked at him.

"If Bolle's tied up with the survivors of the Iron Brigade, then we could really be looking at a major sabotage threat," Steve's voice was grave, "The three leaders who escaped capture two years ago were part of the electronics team. In particular, Oberleutnant Hauser. He was the scientific genius of the whole sabotage ring."

"But why would they tip their hand with something as obvious as another attempt on your life?" Wonder Woman asked.

"Probably because they didn't figure on us surviving and adding things up," Steve smiled thinly.

Reynolds went over to refill his mug, "It could always be a Japanese ring. They still have something hard to gain by sabotaging the project."

"Not likely," Wonder Woman shook her head, "Even if I'm wrong about Bolle, the man in the car was a definite Caucasian."

"Well, let's not be so generic," Steve allowed, "Bolle could be working in cahoots with the Japanese, but I'd lean more toward the Iron Brigade trying to strike one last blow on behalf of their lost cause."

"Well at this point Colonel, it doesn't really matter," Reynolds took another sip, "Right now, what I have to figure out is whether you should still be allowed to witness the test."

Steve flushed slightly, "Why shouldn't I?"

"Because if the attempt was specifically aimed at you, then whoever's behind it is going to try again, once they realize that they've failed. And if you're at base camp and Trinity site watching the test, the risk for sabotage only becomes magnified."

Trevor rose and looked Reynolds in the eye with his best I-outrank-you stare.

"Major," he said patiently, "I understand any legitimate security concerns you might have, and I hope that when you fill General Groves in on all this, you'll be able to take the necessary precautions. But there isn't a snowball's chance in hell that I'm not going to witness the test. Under the normal military chain-of-command, my boss, General Blankenship, should have been among the first to know about this project three years ago. But because some two-bit bureaucrats had the gall to think that I was a security risk, he was unfairly kept in the dark. And I'm not going to allow for one minute, the possibility of the general and myself being insulted any further by not letting me see the test as promised."

His bluntness caused Reynolds to uneasily step backward.

"I, I wasn't suggesting that I would recommend that to General Groves," the major uneasily stammered, "But if the general were to decide all by himself--"

"Then I shall personally have it out with the general," Steve cut in.

"And if the general does contemplate it," Wonder Woman jumped in, "Then he'll have to answer to me, because I won't put in my appearance for the men if Colonel Trevor isn't allowed to participate in the test."

Reynolds looked over and seemed more intimidated by the sight of her than by Steve.

"I'll definitely discourage him if he gets the idea," he said hastily, "In the meantime, I'm going to call it a night. You'll both need to be up by seven for the trip to base camp."

"We'll be ready," Steve said politely, "Goodnight Major Reynolds."

"Goodnight," he gave Steve a quick salute and then bowed slightly to Wonder Woman, "And Wonder Woman, if I don't get another chance to say this, thanks for saving my life."

"I'm sorry you had to go through that, Major," she said gently, "Goodnight."

When Reynolds was gone, Steve sighed and dropped back into his chair. Diana came up behind him and began to gently rub his shoulders.

"Mmmmm," he smiled as he let himself relax, "That feels so good."

"It's really been a long day, hasn't it?"

"Yeah," he nodded, "God, Diana I wonder why you put up with me. A total moron who never can stay out of danger."

Diana kissed him on the neck, "I put up with you because I love you, you self-deprecating fool."

"I guess I sometimes feel guilty," Steve absently stared off into space, "You've done so much for me, and I never feel like I've done anything for you in return."

"You've done a lot," she whispered tenderly, "By letting me become your wife one day."

He turned around and looked up at her, "I know, but I feel as if I need to do something more. Something more self-sacrificing for you. Is there anything I could ever do for you that would make me feel as if I'd repaid you completely?"

Diana hesitated slightly, and she uneasily looked down.

"Is there?" he repeated, "Tell me angel, please."

Diana took a breath and gathered her inner strength, "There is," she whispered, "There is something I've been meaning to ask you to do, that to be honest, I think is critical to our future."

"Tell me," Steve squeezed her hand, "Tell me and I'll do it. I don't care what it is."

She closed her eyes and her expression grew slightly pained, but she knew that now was the time to bring this difficult subject up.

"Steve," she said, "On the day the war ends, I want us to be married. And then, I want us to leave America and spend the rest of our lives together on Paradise Island."

Steve's tender expression slowly transformed into a disbelieving stare.

"I want us to live on Paradise Island," Diana repeated softly, "I want us to live in a place where we can be safe from what this next terrible chapter of history is going to unleash."

Steve looked at her with stupefied silence for more than a minute. Then he looked down and tried to contemplate things.

"Let me get this straight," he said cautiously, "You don't want to stay in America anymore?"

"No," she slowly shook her head.

Steve rubbed his chain and then slowly nodded as light dawned on him, "Because of the bomb."

"Yes," she sighed and began to pace, "I know what that explosion is going to look like, and what it's going to mean. I'm grateful that it's going to save a million soldiers from dying in Japan, but if we're going to keep developing these weapons after the war, then civilization as we know it, will cease to exist. I'm convinced of that."

"I see," Steve said dubiously, "You don't trust our government to use these weapons wisely?"

Diana stopped pacing and looked back at him with agony, "I trust our government as it is now. But what would happen if America suddenly had an unscrupulous leader who might not use them wisely? And what would happen if another Hitler came to power and acquired these weapons? The possibilities frighten me too much."

"And your answer is to have us retreat to your idyllic home on Paradise Island?"

"Where we can be together in peace," she knelt in front of him and put her hands on his shoulders, "Where our children can be safe, and can learn about the ways of love and peace and be free."

Steve looked at her for a long moment of uneasy silence.

Then, he looked down at slightly shook his head, "You're asking something I don't think I can ever do."

"Why?" she'd expected an initial reluctance and plowed on, "I'm offering you a better way of life for us."

He looked at her again, "I thought men weren't allowed on Paradise Island."

"That's about to change," Diana said firmly.

"Is it?" his tone was skeptical.

"Yes," she said, "I'm going to force that change. And I know the majority will agree with me."

Steve calmly exhaled and looked up at the ceiling, "You still might be asking too much of me, Diana."

Diana tensed inside. She didn't want to say what was on the tip of her tongue, but she was being left with no choice.

"Steve," she said gently, but gravely, "Our future together may very well depend on it."

His expression grew stunned, "Are you suggesting that if I don't come with you, you'd," he struggled to say it, "You'd leave me?"

Diana closed her eyes in agony.

Steve's tone now grew hurt, "I guess maybe our love isn't as deep as I thought it was."

"Don't say that Steve," she whispered, her eyes still shut, "I love you more than anything in the world."

"But you're more concerned with living on Paradise Island then you are with me."

"No," her voice suddenly rose in pitch and she put her arms around him, "I only want us to be together in a place where we'll be happy."

"Only last week you thought we could both be happy here," he retorted.

"That was before I knew about the Manhattan Project," she gritted her teeth, "and before I realized that this civilization is going to one day destroy itself."

"That's rubbish," Steve suddenly grew brusque and rose from the chair, pushing her back, "Total rubbish grounded in irrational fear. If that's the only thing you're worried about Diana, you can relax. Civilization is going to endure."

"Make me believe that," tears began welling in her eyes, "Make me believe that, because I don't see how I can."

"You have to have faith," he said, "Faith that good is stronger than evil. Faith that God is in ultimate control of history. That's what's going to get us through the next uncertain period. And God knows I'm not denying that it's going to be rough. I have my doubts about the Russians, and I wouldn't be a bit surprised if we'll soon be in a rivalry with them for influence over the world."

"So we're going to have this little superpower game," Diana said sadly as the tears slowly streamed, "With nuclear weapons controlling the balance. What kind of a way is that to live? Why can't we just get rid of this bomb once it's served its purpose?"

"Do you really think the Russians would never develop one of their own?" Steve said pointedly, "Where would the world be then?"

"I don't know," she shook her head, "Steve, all I wanted to see once the Nazis had been beaten was peace. A peace that would finally mean something. Where men and women from all over the world could work and live together in harmony and freedom."

"That's never going to happen, Diana," he said softly, "Not until God makes the final judgment on mankind. I don't know when that will be, but in the meantime, there'll be more dictators like Hitler, more evil forces like Nazism, and I have a feeling that communism is the next form of Nazism we'll have to combat. And that's why people like you and me are needed in America more than ever. We can't shirk our duty and go off to escape responsibility in some quiet little paradise."

Diana looked at him with a grave expression, "Steve," she said, "I don't want to be disrespectful to your religion, but why would your God keep letting evil go unchecked? Why must this never-ending cycle of evil go on and on until the divine whim of a final judgment? Can a God like that really exist, and supposedly represent love and peace?"

Steve flushed slightly, "Mankind is responsible for evil in the world, not God. Man is a creature of sin whose first instincts are toward evil. That's something that man brought on himself, when he decided that he was better than God. The wars and sufferings we have to endure are the price we pay for that."

"I don't know if I can relate to that," she said, "I just don't know."

Steve grimaced, "You think Greco-Roman paganism offers a better way?"

"I didn't say that," she said with a trace of disgust, "And I'm not suggesting for a minute that you'd have to give up your faith on Paradise Island. I know it means a lot to you, and believe me I've wished that I could have your faith too. It's just that for now, I'm finding more comfort in the religion of my people. But please, don't let religion come between us, Steve."

"If you remain devoted to a mythical goddess of love, Diana, it might just do that."

Diana wiped her eyes and she shook her head in deeper disgust, "You really are so sure of yourself, aren't you Steve? That your way of life, your religion, your outlook is superior to everything I've ever known? Is that supposed to dominate our lives from now on, this never-ending sense of superiority?"

"Don't be ridiculous," he turned away from her.

"I don't think I am," her voice rose, "It was perfectly all right for me to contemplate sacrificing everything I've known and loved to live with you in America. And yet you're not willing to consider for one minute, the thought of giving up your ways to live with me in Paradise Island. That says a lot, Steve. That when it comes to give and take between man and woman, the woman gives and the man takes. Your whole attitude is typical of why men have been barred from Paradise Island for 2500 years."

Steve stared at her with hurt and anger, "Don't give me that holier-than-thou attitude. I'd sure like to know what it is your people want from men. Do you want real equality, or do you want some little fantasy world where men cower to your every whim?"

"You know that's not true," the tears returned, "You know that's not true. How dare you such a thing?"

"How dare you call me selfish just because I didn't jump when you decided to pull a 180 on me, and tell me that our love depended on my giving up my whole livelihood to go off to some isolated rock in the Atlantic!" he shouted back.

"I withdraw the offer," Diana's eyes glistened with contempt, "And I withdraw my acceptance of your proposal. When this test is over, I'm leaving for Paradise Island and never coming back. It's finally obvious to me that you're no different from all other men. You're just as vain and egotistical as all the others."

Steve stiffened and looked like he'd been punched in the side of the head.

"If that's what you want," he choked out his words, "Then go ahead. See if I care."

He then headed for the door and slammed it behind him with all his strength.

Diana then collapsed onto the bed and buried her face in the pillow, sobbing uncontrollably.

The day that had begun with such serene confidence, had come to an end with shattered dreams and bitter anger.

And through it all, she could see Hippolyte looking at her with a sardonic smile. An I-told-you-so expression.

"Forgive me Mother," she whimpered, "You were right."

Down the hall, Steve slammed the door shut to his room and then, filled with anger and hurt, he savagely kicked the wastebasket by the door clear across the room where it hit the wall with a thud.

He stood there breathing heavily, shaking his head in disbelief.

"What the hell happened?" he whispered in between breaths, "Dear God in heaven, will you tell me what the hell happened?"

For over five minutes he stood there, waiting for his rage to dissipate.

Then, he slowly dropped to the bed and kicked off his shoes.

"Tell me it'll be all right," his whisper took on a pleading tone, "Tell me it'll be all right tomorrow. Dear God, don't let me lose her."

And then, without even taking off his uniform, he lay down and stared at the ceiling until sleep overtook him an hour later.

Chapter Seven

July 13, 1945

In a seedy motel located ten miles from Albuquerque, Dietrich Bolle awoke with a sense of invigoration he'd not felt since the glory years of the war. To realize that he'd succeeded in avenging his brother's death, and to realize that he'd done what no other Nazi had been able to do in destroying the bitch Wonder Woman, made him feel enormously satisfied. Now, he could let himself relax for the next ten days until his final meeting with Fuchs in Santa Fe. And then, he could go back to Washington and plunge into his work for the Russians with both confidence and a clear conscience.

He went over to the battered radio and turned it on, hoping that his triumph might have been made public.

"...and the Big Three summit continues at Potsdam, where President Truman, Prime Minister Churchill and Marshal Stalin determine the future of occupied Germany..."

What a tragedy, Bolle thought sadly as he began to dress, that the Fatherland should suffer such a fate. But then again, Hauser had been right. The decision to invade Russia had destroyed any chance of victory.

"...Locally, Albuquerque police have begun a search for an unidentified man in a car, who last night, pulled up alongside an Army staff car in downtown Albuquerque, and tossed a grenade into the back seat. According to the Army, four people were in the car, but all were able to escape unharmed, prior to the explosion."

What? Bolle's head darted back toward the radio.

"The only lead the police have is that the man was of medium height, with black hair. His car is a dark colored Kaiser..."

Bolle shut off the radio and sat on the bed in stunned disbelief. That obviously referred to him. But how could they survive? How could they have gotten out so quickly?

But then again, he realized, he should have known better to think it could have been so easy. That bitch was clearly too fast.

"Damn it all," he whispered, "Something has to work."

If they were both alive, then that meant they would proceed to the base camp for the test. And there was no way he wasn't going to take advantage of that.

Bolle went over to his briefcase and pulled out the notes he'd taken during his meeting with Fuchs. He then pulled out his local map and spread it out on the bed.

So help him, he was going to get his revenge on those two no matter what.

Diana awoke to the sound of her phone ringing with the seven AM wake-up call she'd asked for. After acknowledging it, she groggily straightened up and let out a long sad sigh.

She had cried herself to sleep and then dreamt at length about Steve. About them living together on Paradise Island. She saw herself laughing as she sprinted down the white sandy beach, her feet occasionally brushing the surf, looking behind and seeing Steve chasing her with a mischievous grin.

And then, Diana slowing her pace so he could catch up to her. Finally, the two of them running naked through the surf and then making love to each other on the beach, spread out under a starlit sky.

It was everything she wanted, and she now realized the sad truth that it could only be a dream.

She would have to give up Steve.

If only I had more courage, she thought as she held her arms against her head. If I only I had some kind of reassurance that I can live in this world with confidence and security, and then I could stay with Steve and be happy.

But for Diana, there was no faith in the future. Not as long as something as terrible as the bomb existed. And if Diana had no faith in the future of the world of men, she could never be happy, not even with Steve.

And last night had forced her to realize that Steve could never be happy on Paradise Island. After a while, he'd probably get bored and become miserable. Even more so, if Steve had to confront the potential guilt of leaving the military and feeling the burden of letting his country down.

No, she sighed, Steve wasn't meant to live on Paradise Island. His place was here. Just as her place was on Paradise Island.

But how can I let go of him? Diana's tortured mind cried out as she got out of bed. I love him.

Slowly, she washed herself up and then changed into her costume. And then, she stared at her image in the mirror for a long moment, trying to answer the question.

Finally, reluctantly, she admitted the obvious. That if she truly loved him, she would let him go and not force him to live in a place he could never adjust to, or force herself to live in a world she no longer wanted any part of.

Last night had shown Diana what would happen if they stayed together in either setting. There would be quarrels, angry words spoken in the heat of the moment, bitterness, shame. The love they both felt would disappear, and be replaced with suspicion, mistrust and hate.

And that was something she could never allow. She only wanted to love Steve Trevor for eternity. But it now looked as if the only way she could ever preserve that love would be to let go of him. Forever.

That was what she would have to tell him tonight. There'd be tears and pleas of forgiveness from him, perhaps even a desperate promise to come with her to Paradise Island. But Diana resolved to not let herself be strayed. She knew now what the truth was, and what was best for both of them. And that meant letting him go.

Diana heard a knock on the door. Resigned, she answered it and saw Major Reynolds, with a bandage on his chin from a hasty shave.

"Good morning, Wonder Woman," he bowed slightly.

"Good morning," she somehow managed to smile.

"We'll be having breakfast and then head up to base camp."

"That'll be fine," she said as she stepped out into the hall.

And then, she saw Steve standing off by himself, ten feet away. He looked at her, his expression stiff-lipped. She looked back at him, her face neutral, but her eyes betraying the agony she felt.

As they began walking down to the hotel restaurant, there was only an uneasy silence.

An hour later, they were headed south down Route 85 on the 100 mile journey that would take them to the Trinity site. Throughout breakfast, and throughout the drive, Steve and Wonder Woman did not speak directly to each other, directing all their remarks to Reynolds.

It had not gone unnoticed by the major, and as he sat between them in the backseat, he frequently glanced at either one of them and began to feel decidedly uncomfortable.

"I ah, hope I made the itinerary clear to both of you," he said, trying to break the silence.

"Perfectly," Steve said as he stared out the window at the New Mexican desert, "The bomb arrives from Los Alamos today, it gets hoisted up into the shot tower at the test site tomorrow, a dry run on Saturday, and on Sunday morning, the big day."

"Assuming the weather doesn't foul up our best-laid plans," Reynolds said.

"Tell me again about the weather preparations you've had to go through, Major," Wonder Woman said as she too stared out the window, trying to look away from Steve.

Reynolds let out a dry chuckle, "We called in two expert weather forecasters, including the one who handled the forecast for the Normandy invasion, to go over the records and determine which day in the last forty years will most closely resemble the expected conditions on Sunday. They decided on July 28, 1900 and then they went over every last map they could find for that date. We figured it was the only way to anticipate any unexpected changes in the weather that might occur."

"Impressive," she nodded her head.

Two hours went by, filled with large stretches of silence that were only occasionally punctured by Wonder Woman or Steve asking Reynolds a question, but never speaking or looking at each other.

Outside the town of Socorro, the staff car turned off onto a restricted access road.

"We're nearing the site," Reynolds pointed as they drove past a small complex dotted with searchlights, "This is the North shelter, 10,000 yards away. This will serve as one of the observatory posts."

"Will we be watching it from here?" Steve asked.

"No, the VIP's will be watching from the South shelter. That's closer to base camp."

Moments later, a tall 100-foot steel tower with a iron shed at the top came into view.

"There it is," Reynolds smiled faintly, "This is where it will take place. Come Sunday, if it goes off, this place won't even exist any more."

His flippant tone caused Wonder Woman to flinch slightly, but she quickly let it pass.

The staff car then pulled up alongside an old adobe ranch house, ringed by a cattle cistern, several hundred feet from the shot tower. Several jeeps were parked with their backs to the house, and numerous MP's stood guard with their carbines at the ready.

"This house used to belong to some ranchers. We bought up all the land from them six months ago for a generous price," Reynolds said as the car came to a stop.

The three of them got out and made their way to the entrance. And they noticed something unusual about the parked jeeps.

"The engines are still idling," Steve noted.

Reynolds uneasily bit his lip, "Hmmm, that means they're putting together the nuclear core. SOP calls for the jeeps to be idling in case a quick getaway is needed."

"Why?" Steve frowned.

"In case of an accidental chain reaction."

Wonder Woman stopped in her tracks and uneasily looked at him.

The major then laughed disarmingly, "Relax Wonder Woman, they know what they're doing."

"I hope so," she said warily.

Just then, a frail man emerged from the house, dressed in baggy trousers and a porkpie hat. His expression and demeanor suggested a fidgety nervousness that only made Wonder Woman's blood chill all the more.

"Something wrong, Doctor?" Reynolds frowned.

He shook his head and smiled weakly, "They asked me to leave the room until after they'd finished. Apparently, they didn't think I was behaving myself," he exhaled, "It's just that when you think of all the explosive power that's in there, it's not easy to have icewater in your veins," he looked back at the house, oblivious to the three of them.

"Um, Doctor this is Colonel Steve Trevor and Wonder Woman."

He turned around and blushed in embarrassment, "Oh forgive me. Yes, I heard you two were coming," he extended his hand, "Colonel it's an honor to meet you. And you too, Wonder Woman. I've always enjoyed reading about your exploits."

"Thank you," she smiled and shook hands with him, "I don't think I caught your name."

"Dr. Robert Oppenheimer," he smiled, "Chief scientist of the project."

Her eyes widened, "You're in charge of all this?"

"Of the scientific side," Oppenheimer said, "General Groves is the final authority. He told us scientists he wanted an atom bomb, and I was in charge of the team to give it to him," he looked back at the house, "And today, three years of work comes together in the first unit."

"I see."

"Well right now, I'm going to watch for the convoy that's bringing the bomb from Los Alamos. You're free to go in and watch them finish putting the core together, but don't make a sound," he began walking toward the shot tower, "I look forward to talking to you both later."

"We'll look forward to it, Doctor," Steve said politely and he headed for the front door, Reynolds following.

Steve looked back and saw Wonder Woman still standing in place, uneasily glancing at Oppenheimer's receding form behind her.

He was on the verge of calling "Diana" to her, but caught himself at the last instant, "Uh, Wonder Woman are you coming in?" It was the first time he'd spoken directly to her, all morning.

She seemed jolted, "Oh. Yes, yes I'm coming."

As she drew closer, her unease only heightened. If the chief scientist himself could seem so ill-at-ease, then how could she ever feel comfortable about the bomb?

More than ever, Diana knew that she had to return to the safety of Paradise Island as soon as it was possible.

As she entered the doorway, she glanced for an instant at Steve, and then it lingered as he looked back at her. For a long moment there was an agonized silence as they looked into each other's eyes.

Tell me it's still all right, Diana, Steve's mind cried out. Tell me it can still work.

Forgive me, Steve, Diana's expression cried back, but it's over.

As if he knew what she was thinking, Steve uneasily bit his lip and moved off into the house, staying several steps ahead of her.

Eight men in white surgical coats were busy at work, hunched over a table, where field kit boxes were laid out, and strange small pieces lay on brown wrapping paper.

"Putting the plutonium core together," Reynolds whispered, "That's the explosive power of the bomb. When they're done, it gets fitted in to the bomb component which arrives shortly from Los Alamos."

"I sure hope they've got steady hands," Steve whispered back.

"They ought to," he said wryly, "Those small pieces of plutonium cost exactly 500 million dollars to produce."

"Incredible," Wonder Woman murmured.

Just then, one of the scientists looked up toward the back, "Hey guys, our problems are over. Wonder Woman's here."

The other scientists turned around and several of them broke into relieved grins.

"Glad you're here, Wonder Woman," the first scientist said, "We could use the disaster insurance in case our three years of training lead to a last second foul-up."

Inside, she was turned off by the gallows humor but outwardly, she flashed a perfect smile, "Anything in the line of duty, gentlemen. In the meantime, try to ignore me."

"You're the first person here that I'd be honored to take orders from. "

"Boy that says a lot about you, if you can ignore Wonder Woman in an instant," another scientist quipped.

Wonder Woman tensed slightly, "I can leave if that'll make things easier."

"No, no," the second scientist held up a hand, "You're providing some much needed relief to the proceedings, Wonder Woman. We want you to stay."

"Sure beats having Groves watching us," the first scientist said, which brought a tension releasing laughter from everyone.

But for Diana, the inner tension only continued to mount. And with it, her determination to go home, even without Steve.

Finally, after several minutes she felt too overwhelmed. She turned and quietly made her way out of the ranch house. Steve only shot a glancing look at her and he uneasily bit his lip before turning back to watch the scientists.

Once Diana was outside, she let out a deep exhale, and tried to get herself to relax. It took several minutes before the inner tension even began to slightly dissipate.

Slowly, she made her way over to the shot tower, where Dr. Oppenheimer stood at the base.

"Hello, Doctor." she said, trying to sound cheery.

Oppenheimer seemed startled, "Oh, Wonder Woman. I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were here. Have they finished?"

"No," she shook her head, "No, I just didn't feel like watching it."

"I don't blame you," he smiled weakly, "Next to when this thing finally goes off, that's the most nerve wracking moment of the whole project."

"Tell me, Doctor," she said cautiously, "What's your opinion of this project? I mean," she broke off and tried to pick her words carefully, "I mean, do you really see this whole thing as necessary?"

The chief scientist continued to smile thinly, "You have doubts of your own?"

She returned his uneasy smile with one of her own, "To be honest, yes. I've had some basic training in the principles of atomic energy, and I'm well aware of the power that one bomb can unleash. And what worries me the most, is the post-war consequences of developing these weapons."

Oppenheimer laughed without much mirth, "Rest easy, Wonder Woman," he said, "You are not alone."

She uneasily bit her lip.

"Unless atomic weapons are placed under some form of international control," he went on, "then the likelihood of full-scale atomic warfare might someday become a reality."

"Is there any realistic hope of that?"

The chief scientist continued to smile mirthlessly, "Let me put it this way. General Groves, who is a very brilliant man and an excellent commanding officer of this project, has been acting under the assumption that the Russians are our future enemy, and that the longer our technology is kept out of their hands, the better. If most of our leaders feel the same way as he does, then I don't think I can be too optimistic about the prospects for international control."

"I see," in a sense, Wonder Woman had expected to hear that. But still, the sick feeling of helplessness and fear of the future intensified within her, "Do you ever regret being a part of this project?"

This time, Oppenheimer laughed in a more disarming manner, "Certainly not. Obviously, I have my concerns about the future, but at the same time, this project can conceivably open up more important peaceful uses of atomic energy. I only hope that the peaceful uses will take precedence in the next generation."

"I hope so too, Doctor." she then looked to the north horizon, where the chief scientist's gaze was fixed, "What are you watching for?"

"The convoy from Los Alamos with the bomb. When it arrives, the nuclear core is fitted into it, and then Fat Man is raised into the shot tower for the big test on Sunday."

"Fat Man?"

"Our code name for the plutonium test bomb, because it looks so fat and reminded someone of Churchill," Oppenheimer sighed, "We've developed enough material for a second plutonium bomb of a similar type. There's also a different design that's been dubbed Little Boy."

"So you have two bombs that are ready to be dropped on Japan?"

"Yes," he nodded, "Assuming this one goes off, of course."

"Which targets will it be?" Wonder Woman asked with slight trepidation.

The chief scientist sighed, "We haven't determined that yet. From what I've been able to understand, it has to be a target that hasn't been laid to waste already by one of General LeMay's firebombings. If the test goes well, then General Groves will set up a Target Committee to make the decision next week."

"Will you be on this committee?"

"Oh yes," he said, "That won't be easy, but it's to be expected."

Wonder Woman decided to change the subject, "How did you get involved with this project?"

He looked at her and continued to wryly smile, "I was the first person General Groves hired when he took over the project three years ago. The general felt I was the only scientist who could assemble a team and pull this off."

"And you willingly accepted?"

Oppenheimer shrugged, "I didn't exactly relish the idea of the Nazis beating us to it."

She suddenly blushed in embarrassment, "I am a fool. I forgot all about that danger."

"It's easy to forget," he said, "It's only been two months since V-E Day, but it already seems like an eternity ago. Things have been moving real fast," he looked off into the distance, "A little too fast."

Wonder Woman looked in the same direction and saw a cloud of dust on the horizon.

"Ah, that must be them," the chief scientist noted, "I hate to break off our little chat, Wonder Woman, but I hope to talk to you some more about all this later."

"Of course," she nodded as Oppenheimer moved off and made his way to a cluster of men twenty yards away.

Slowly, Wonder Woman made her way back to the ranch house. As she reached the doorway, she was abruptly startled when Steve emerged from the shadows inside.

For a moment, they stared at each other. His arms were folded and his expression stoic. Her face was taut, her bearing stiff.

Finally, he broke the silence. "Can we talk alone for a minute?"

"Sure," she said in a neutral tone.

Steve stepped out of the house and together, they began walking away from both the house and the shot tower.

"Look Diana," he started, then stopped in his tracks. "About last night..."

"Steve," she cut in, "I'm not bitter. I'm not angry. I still love you very much and I always will. But I haven't changed my mind about what I have to do."

"I understand," he said quietly, "And I've been doing a lot of thinking myself, and I realize what an ass I was. I told you I was willing to do anything for you, and when you asked something of me, I just threw it back in your face. I was wrong, Diana. Horribly wrong."

"But you were right," Diana said matter-of-factly, "You don't belong on Paradise Island. You belong here, doing what you were meant to do, and that's serving the country you love. If I made you walk out on that, you'd have a guilt complex for the rest of your life."

"I could learn to live with that. I never wanted to stay in the military forever," his voice began to crack slightly as he put his hands on her cheeks, "All I know is that I'd be lost without you. I don't care where I have to go as long as I can be with you. I love you so much."

She let out a sad sigh and looked down at the ground, "This has nothing to do with love, Steve. It has to do with practicality. Sure, right now you're willing to give it all up and come with me to Paradise Island. But will you still feel happy five years from now? Ten years from now? A hundred years from now?"

Diana looked back up into his tortured expression, "I know enough about you Steve Trevor, to know that you'd get bored and unhappy. You'd feel guilty about letting your country down because you believe in the bomb and what it represents, and that you'd be shirking your duty if you didn't stay. I don't share your sentiments, but I know I'd feel guilty if I felt I had to destroy your patriotism and your beliefs just to have you all to myself. I want to love you for what you are, and if I'm to do that, then I have to let you go."

"I don't want to be let go," he whispered, "I want you."

"Think about the long term, Steve," Diana struggled to remain patient, "If we stay together then there'll be more nights like last night. Sooner or later, our love would turn to anger, resentment, and hate. Do you want to see that happen?"

"Of course not," he stifled an angry rasp in his voice, "But damn it Diana, two people who know they love each other can learn how to correct their faults and live together. That's how people develop relationships. Love is never perfect for anyone."

"Steve," she put her hand on his cheek and spoke with tenderness, "If I thought there was a way, I'd gladly do it. I love you, and my heart is breaking as much as I know yours is.."

"Do you really know?" he backed away from her and this time he was unable to conceal the anger, "Do you really know at all? After 2500 years without love in your society, do you think you can ever know how I could feel after something like this?"

He began walking away from her, stopped and turned back with a bitter expression on his face, "Maybe you're right. Maybe I should just forget about you."

As he stalked off in the direction of the shot tower, Diana felt the tears streaming down her face.

"Hera and Aphrodite help me," she whispered, trying to draw strength from a faith in deities she had come to question, but which offered her only means of drawing strength, "Please show me with all your wisdom what it right. Help me."

40 miles to the northwest in Socorro, Bolle pulled off of Route 85 and into a roadside diner. Exhausted by the tedious drive from Albuquerque, he staggered into the eatery and sat down at the counter.

"What'll it be, Mac?" the greasy faced proprietor with an apron to match, came up to him.

"Kaffee," Bolle mumbled.

"Huh?" the proprietor frowned.

He suddenly straightened himself, "Ah, I'm sorry. Coffee."

The proprietor kept staring at him with suspicion, then shrugged and went over to the nearby coffee urn, where he poured into a cup.

"Here," he set it down, "Anything else? Lunch?"

"No thank you," Bolle sipped it and idly looked around the empty diner, "Slow day?"

"Maybe, but it doesn't matter," the proprietor shrugged, "I've had all the business I need for one day."

"Really."

"Yeah, about three hours ago a bunch of jeeps pulled up here and the next thing I know there's a dozen guys asking for eggs and hotcakes."

"Soldiers?"

"Nah, they weren't soldiers. The only ones I saw kept standing around the jeeps outside with their guns cocked. You’dve thought they were guarding Truman or MacArthur or something important in the backseat."

"Interesting," Bolle kept sipping his coffee. "Very interesting."

Five minutes later, he finished and left a dime on the table. As he got back into his car, he made a quick mental inventory.

Fuchs had been right. The convoy had come down right on schedule. That meant he had very little time to put his plan of ultimate revenge into effect.

But so help him, he wasn't going to let anything deter him, even if it meant screwing the Russians as well as the Americans. His last duty for the Reich had to come first.

He started up and headed back down Route 85.

Chapter Eight

The rest of the afternoon at Trinity site was filled with anxious tension. For a few brief hours, both Steve and Diana found their mutual antagonism superseded by the impressive spectacle of the plutonium components being mated to the bomb known as 'Fat Man'. And then, the even more impressive sight of the destructive behemoth being lifted up into the shot tower. It was enough to cow them both into awed silence for the rest of the afternoon, choosing instead to let the Los Alamos scientists explain everything to them.

But when the long, tedious and tension-filled process of putting Fat Man into place for its pending detonation, over and done with, the roles became reversed.

As darkness settled over the New Mexican desert, Steve and Wonder Woman both found themselves as the guests of honor at a special VIP dinner. Throughout the evening, the chief officers and scientists of the Manhattan Project focused their attention on Wonder Woman, with question after question about her famous exploits.

Slowly, she got to know all the other scientists. Edward Teller, an imposing figure with thick eyebrows and an equally thick Hungarian accent. Hans Bethe, who seemed to share many of the doubts that Robert Oppenheimer had earlier voiced.

Only one of the scientists was unusually quiet, and seemingly uninterested in the two of them. The frail, owlish looking man named Klaus Fuchs.

Despite an outward composure that was all smiles, inside Diana felt only misery. Misery over the bomb. Misery over Steve.

It was well after ten, when the party began to break up. But just then, everyone's attention was diverted by a new arrival. General Leslie Groves, the commander of the Manhattan Project.

"Wonder Woman it's an honor to meet you," the general shook hands with her. He was a short, stocky unimposing figure, and it was hard to picture him as being in charge of the most important project of the entire war.

"I'm glad to be here, General," she smiled politely.

"Steve, it's good to see you again. It's been too long." he shook hands with Trevor.

"Good to see you again, sir." Steve smiled, "But it was my understanding you weren't going to be back from the West coast until tomorrow."

"Well, circumstances have caused a change," he said, and his tone grew more serious, "And I'd like to talk to both of you in my office about it."

Five minutes later they were in Groves' makeshift office.

"I heard about what happened in Albuquerque last night," Groves said as he drank from a coffee cup, "And that's why I decided to cut short my inspection of the west coast nuclear facilities. I need to know if this attack on the two of you means that the project is somehow in danger."

"I wish I had a definite answer sir," Steve said, "But right now, we only have a hunch about who might have done it, and no clue as to who he's working for."

"Someone named Dietrich Bolle?"

"Yes," Steve frowned, puzzled that Groves knew the name.

The general smiled, "I spoke to General Blankenship on the phone and he gave me the basic details."

"We really don't know who Bolle is working for, General," Wonder Woman spoke up, "But Steve and I both think that he's more involved in a personal vendetta against the two of us and is not specifically concerned with the project."

"That's hardly reassuring," Groves said, "Because even if that's true, Colonel Bolle might decide to extract his revenge by sabotaging the project, knowing that it would kill you as well."

"General," Steve said patiently, "I believe Major Reynolds has told you how strong I feel about witnessing the test?"

"He has," the general sighed, "And I don't blame you for that. It wasn't my idea to leave you and General Blankenship in the dark about this project, and I told Secretary Stimson a hundred times that it was rotten. But you understand of course, that if I chose to have you away from Site Y at the time of the test, it would only be for the best of reasons."

"General," Wonder Woman spoke with a hint of frost in her tone, "Don't treat either one of us as fools. If there is an attempt on us, it's not going to come in the form of sabotaging the Project. When we watch that explosion, we'll all be six miles away, and any sabotage at the scene isn't capable of harming us."

Groves stared at her for a moment, taken aback by her bluntness. Then, he leaned back in his chair and smiled disarmingly, "My compliments Wonder Woman," he said, "You've learned the principles very fast."

There was little warmth in the smile she returned to him.

"Well you can relax on that point," he went on, "Since Fat Man is already in place without a hitch, and since the weather prognosis looks good, I've decided the best thing is to have the test moved up 24 hours to Saturday morning."

The two of them took a minute to digest that information before Steve spoke, "That's probably a good idea because if there is a genuine sabotage threat against the Project, then moving it up will probably disrupt their time element."

"That's what I'm hoping," Groves said, "This way, no one will have a chance at it, whether they're German, Japanese, or even Russian."

"Russian?" Wonder Woman frowned, "Why would they be involved?"

"Well, let me amend that slightly. I wouldn't say the Russians are interested in sabotage, but they'd damn well be interested in spying."

"I don't understand this," she went on, "Why is there this obsession that the Russians are already our enemies? I don't even understand why we've never told them about this project anyway."

The director of the Manhattan Project smiled thinly, "There's a very compelling reason for that, Wonder Woman. The bottom-line is that Stalin is an almost equally despicable dictator as Hitler was. Anyone who thinks we can get along with him in peace is living in a fantasyland that will never come to reality."

"So we exacerbate the situation by antagonizing him," she was unconvinced, "How do you think he'll react when he finds out about this?"

"He'll have more respect for our capability and be dissuaded from making any imperialistic moves in Europe," Groves responded, "I would think Wonder Woman, that the sad experience of Mr. Chamberlain proclaiming the discovery of 'peace in our time' at Munich, would illustrate the need for firmness with a potential adversary."

"Well--," she started and then stopped when she saw Steve glancing at her in annoyance, as if saying to her, Not now Diana. Please, not now.

She took the hint and smoothly steered away from the subject, "Well whatever the case, General, I think your decision is the right one. And as far as my safety and Colonel Trevor's is concerned, I know that we'll be able to take care of ourselves."

"Of that I'm sure," Groves grinned, "In the meantime, you should also know that this decision moves everything else up by 24 hours. That means the personal appearance for the men will be tomorrow night instead of Saturday."

"That will be fine," Wonder Woman nodded, "I look forward to that."

"As do all of us," he rose, "I'll let you get back to what's left of the party now. If we get any information about Bolle, we'll let you know."

"Thank you General," Steve rose and they shook hands, "We appreciate your consideration."

Alone, Steve and Diana walked back across the compound toward the VIP complex, largely in silence.

Finally, she broke it, "I'm sorry I nearly lost control of myself."

"No problem," he said curtly, "Just remember to keep your political opinions to yourself, Diana."

"It has nothing to do with politics," she said, "I've always known that Communism isn't a particularly noble ideology. My whole concerns have been about common-sense, and if we're going to show any of it in dealing with atomic weapons after the war."

"Let me ask you something Diana," he stopped and looked at her, "What would be worse, atomic destruction, which is a very remote possibility, or living in slavery under one empire's tyranny?"

"Isn't history filled with examples of people who learned to escape from tyranny?" she retorted, "Even your Bible talks about the Hebrews, who needed five hundred years to escape from the Egyptians. But atomic destruction leaves the world with no hope. None whatsoever."

"So why throw in the towel?" he tried another track as they came to their adjacent quarters, "If you feel so strongly about all this Diana, then why is it impossible for you to stay? Dammit, if you want to, then join the first anti-bomb organization or something. I don't care what kind of political activism you get involved with as long as it means we could still be together."

She sighed and put her hand on the door to her quarters, "Steve, we've already been over this and there's no point in arguing it any further."

"I don't think so," he said with determination, "So help me God, Diana, I'm not going to let you get away from me."

"I am not your slave," she wrinkled her nose at him, "If I choose to go home to Paradise Island, then that will be my decision."

"I'm only trying to tell you how much I love you," Steve's tone grew exasperated, "I love you more than anything in the world, Diana. I don't want to lose you."

"Neither do I," she put her hand on his cheek, "Try not to walk away in a huff again when I tell you this, Steve. My heart is breaking as much as yours is. But the sad fact is that world events are creating a permanent impasse between us.

"You have too much fear of the world," he kept himself calm, "Can the atomic bomb really wipe out everything you've learned about the world in the last three years?"

"I'm afraid it has," she said sadly and then looked about the empty compound, "Can we continue this inside? I don't want some soldier wandering by and noticing us."

"Sure," Steve struggled to keep himself composed as he followed her in to her quarters.

A bored Klaus Fuchs walked across the compound headed for his own quarters on the base camp, grateful that the dinner party had finally broken up. He couldn't for the life of him understand the fascination his colleagues had shown for that silly Wonder Woman. Nothing but a cheap, gaudy symbol of bourgeois decadence, as far as he was concerned. He'd never believed for one moment any of the stories written about Wonder Woman that had been in all the newspapers and magazines for the last three years. All along, he'd dismissed it as some cheap stunt to boost Allied morale. There was no harm in that while the war had been going on, he would have favored anything that contributed even the tiniest bit to the Nazi defeat, but with that part done, he found the whole idea of her thoroughly ridiculous.

He drew closer to his quarters and noticed a uniformed corporal coming up the other way. As they passed each other underneath one of the overhead lights that illuminated the compound, he nodded his head in polite acknowledgment.

He had walked several feet beyond, when he suddenly stopped in his tracks.

"Hey," he turned around, "Corporal, come here."

The corporal stopped but did not turn around.

Slowly, Fuchs made his way up to him. When he reached him, he looked into his face, long and hard.

"I thought so," he whispered, "Are you mad?"

Bolle allowed himself a faint smile, "It is nice to see you again Herr Doktor. Although I think it would be in your interest to walk away and pay no attention to me."

"You are mad," the scientist hissed, "We should have known better than to trust a Nazi hund like you. Now your true intentions become clear."

"Relax Herr Doktor," Bolle said, "Your silly espionage ring is in no danger of exposure. If I am captured I intend to disavow all knowledge of my connections to your organization. My purpose in being here is strictly a personal matter."

"What are you talking about?"

"It's best that you not know," Bolle kept his tone gentle, "None of this concerns you or your organization, and I'd rather not put any of you in an awkward position. As much as I don't care for what my former colleagues have done, I have a higher regard for what they are trying to do, then I do for the Americans. In the meantime, Herr Doktor, pretend that you didn't see me."

With that, Bolle began walking away from him. Agitated, it was several minutes before Fuchs found the strength to walk back to his quarters.

He knew he was not going to sleep very well at all.

Thousand of miles away in the Virginia safe house, a grim-faced Becker quickly locked the door.

"What is it?" Hauser looked up.

"Some very bad news," he said, "Wonder Woman and Colonel Trevor left for New Mexico yesterday, apparently in connection with the Manhattan Project."

Hauser's expression tightened and he drummed his fingers on the desk, "You're sure of that?"

"Absolutely," he said.

"Then we are faced with a serious problem," he said, "Should our old friend, the good Herr Oberst, learn of this, he might think it a unique opportunity to do something very rash."

"And if he fails, then he will be putting all of us in a rather difficult situation," Sturber added.

"Yes," Hauser nodded, "We'll have much to answer for if he ends up exposing our network."

"We can't afford that risk," Becker said pointedly.

"Indeed," Hauser sighed, "What shall we do then?"

"All right," Steve said when the door was closed, "Let's continue our discussion. But before we do, I'd like there to be an agreement that it won't end with any shouting or harsh words at each other."

"That's fine," Diana nodded as she sat on the edge of her cot, "I don't want there to be any hatred or bitterness between us. I just want us to come to an understanding."

"So do I," he sighed and began pacing up and down the cramped room, "So do I."

"Where do we begin then?"

He came up to the cot and sat down next to her, "I think we ought to start afresh," he said, "We have our differences about politics, war, religion, and philosophy. But we also happen to love each other. And I don't see how either one of us can think we'd be better off by separating for good."

"I can not live in a world that I think is going to self-destruct at some point," she said firmly and tried not to look at him, "Nothing can change my mind about that. And there's no place for you on Paradise Island, Steve. Our differences would erupt into hatred and rage no matter where we were. That's something I'm learning to accept, and it's something you should learn to accept too."

"I can't accept it," he said gently, but with emphasis, "I flat out refuse to accept it. If you're so convinced that the world is hopeless, then why did you come to America in the first place?"

"I didn't know there'd be a bomb one day," she said.

"And if you had?" he prodded, "Suppose I'd known about the Manhattan Project three years ago, and told you everything about it. Would you have packed up and left then, on the grounds that the outcome of the war was no longer relevant?"

"Don't be ridiculous. Using the bomb to end the war is one thing. But when such a weapon is developed with no regard for its future use, then the potential is just too frightening."

"Then do something constructive about it," he said, "If you agree with the Oppenheimers and everyone else who wants international control, then join their cause or something. I can live with someone who thinks different from me in politics. I can even learn to live with you if you chose to keep your own religion. But just let us be together, Diana. That's all I want. There isn't anything else I want to demand from you."

Diana let out a troubled sigh, and warily looked at him.

"Don't try to deny it Diana," he said tenderly, "We belong to each other."

Slowly, he placed his hand on her chin, and then he softly kissed her on the mouth. There was no resistance from her. Instead, she relaxed and allowed the kiss to linger for a long minute.

But then, she rose from the cot, "Steve, I, I need to be alone and think about this. God, you don't know how much I love you, but I still... that is I... Well please just let me sleep on this for another day."

He was on the verge of protesting but quickly held it back, "All right," he said quietly, "But tomorrow, this has to be settled."

"Don't push me Steve," she looked away from him, her arms folded. She didn't want him to see the expression of tortured agony on her face, "Please don't push me."

Steve sighed and reluctantly headed for the door, "Goodnight Diana," he said tenderly, "I love you."

"I love you," she barely whispered back.

When the door had closed, she exhaled and brushed away the tears from her face. There were demons racing inside her that she had no idea how to cast out, and to finally achieve the peace she wanted for herself.

Dietrich Bolle found an isolated spot for himself in the back of the deserted base storeroom. A perfect place to keep himself hidden until events warranted it.

Getting on the base had been easier than he'd figured. He'd hidden his car ten miles away where it couldn't be discovered by anyone else. Then, as night fell, he'd quietly slipped on to the back of a truck that was just entering the base. Once inside, he'd quickly stolen a set of khakis and now looked no different from any other soldier on the base.

In the dim light, he went over his map of the area for the hundredth time since he'd first formulated his plan. Each time he looked at it, only increased his determination to go ahead with his plan.

When he finally decided to catch some sleep, it came very easy to him.

Chapter Nine

July 14, 1945

With zero-hour moved up by 24 hours, the activity on the base camp took on a more frenetic pace. For Steve and Wonder Woman, it meant sitting in on numerous briefings by Groves and Oppenheimer, as the final steps leading up to the test were discussed. As a result, they had no time at all to spend a moment together and talk any further about their personal difficulties.

As dusk settled over the New Mexican desert, the last of the briefings finally broke up. Almost immediately, Major Reynolds came up to where they were both seated.

"Just want to remind you both that everything's set for eight-o-clock in the rec hall."

"That will be fine, Major," she put on her best smile, "I know I'm supposed to give a nice morale-boosting speech, and show off some of my trade-tricks, but is there anything else I'm expected to do?"

"No no, all that will be fine. I just hope the GI's aren't so mentally warped that they won't be listening to what you say."

Wonder Woman let out a hearty laugh, "Believe me Major Reynolds, after making over two dozen personal appearances at different camps throughout the country during the last three years, I am used to the sound of GI's whistling at me. And I have always known that they only mean well."

"They're just demonstrating what good taste they have." Steve jumped in.

She turned to him and smiled faintly in appreciation. A gesture that Steve found both reassuring and exhilarating.

"Be at the back entrance of the rec hall by 7:45," Reynolds said, "Everything will be in place by then."

"I'll look forward to it. In the meantime, I'm going to lie down and rest for the next hour." she rose and squeezed Steve's hand, "See you later Steve."

"See you later Wonder Woman." Steve managed a grin, "I'll be looking forward to it too."

As Reynolds turned to leave, he shot a curious glance at Steve. His sense of decorum soon overcame him though, and he left the room too.

Alone, Steve leaned back and let out a sigh of serene contentment.

He was sure that tonight was going to be a night he wouldn't forget for as long as he lived.

The uniformed GI's began filing into the rec hall at 7:30, all of them buzzing with eager anticipation that one of the greatest heros of the war effort was going to make an appearance for them.

Feeling secure, Bolle aimlessly mingled about with the other soldiers looking for a seat near the back. Prudence dictated that he not get caught in any crowds while leaving the place.

He absently bumped into one soldier. He quickly mumbled an apology and then noticed the name stitched on the soldier's khakis. A name he'd heard before in connection with the espionage ring. Greenglass.

So this was the shop machinist who'd passed information on one of the components to Harry Gold, several months earlier. A naive, idealistic Jew who'd been attracted to the Communist cause in his youth, and who had successfully recruited his own brother-in-law into the apparatus as well.

But according to Hauser, the information given by Greenglass was of minimal value. It reassured the former SS colonel immensely, that the Russians treated the Jews within their apparatus as the fools they were. At least then, he didn't have to worry anymore about such inferior races being given preferential treatment in a worldwide communist order. It was good to see that the Reich and the Bolshevik Empire shared that much in common.

He found an aisle seat in the back row and sat down to watch.

At eight PM, General Leslie Groves walked across the stage to face the soldiers behind the Manhattan Project.

"Ten-hut!" a sergeant bellowed, and all of them got to their feet, standing at perfect attention.

"At ease men," Groves said with a modicum of authority, "You can all sit down."

With that, they all resumed their seats in perfect formation.

"Now as you all know men, the long months and years of hard work and effort, will pretty soon be coming to a close. And I just want to say to each and every one of you, that your country is eternally grateful for all the work you've contributed to this project.

"But that'll be enough from me," he smiled, "I know very well that none of you came to hear me talk. You came to see and hear a very special guest, who's come all the way from Washington just to see you fine men. You've all read about how she's singlehandedly broken up more Nazi and Jap spy rings then the rest of the Armed Forces combined. It's my pleasure to introduce the only secret weapon more powerful than this project, Wonder Woman!"

Thunderous applause broke out from the soldiers, and when Wonder Woman emerged from the wings, the noisy crescendo grew with a large number of good-natured whistles.

She stood on the center of the stage, smiling and waving to them. Finally, after basking in the glory for several minutes, she held out her arms to signal for quiet, and the ovation died down.

"Thank you very much," she said appreciatively into the microphone, "I appreciate your kind reception, and the kind hospitality I've received at Trinity Base Camp, New Mexico's answer to El Toro, California."

Her little joke at the expense of a dingy army base in California that many of the men had served at, provoked some wild laughter and applause.

"But really, although a lot of things have been said and written about me, and the things I've been able to accomplish for the war effort, I could never take any credit ahead of what all you wonderful men in uniform have accomplished. Each and every one of you, no matter what you did or where you served, were able to make his contribution to defeating the menace of Nazism forever!"

Some more applause.

"And now, the outstanding work you've done here, will soon be paying off by bringing the Japanese Empire to its knees!"

On she went for another five minutes, with more flag-waving jingoism for their benefit. A lot of the sentiments she expressed went against her own pacifistic streak she'd been brought up with on Paradise Island, but for now, she had little difficulty in setting it aside. She had always believed deeply in the cause America had fought for, and in a time of war when the principles of freedom and democracy were at risk, there was no point in stressing pacifist sounding rhetoric. Such expressions could only be counterproductive during a time such as this.

Everything she said was greeted with thunderous applause and gratitude from everyone in the room.

Everyone except Dietrich Bolle, who found himself fighting a tide of nausea in his throat as he listened to her, and forced himself to clap, so as not to look conspicuous.

"Now I promise you all, I'll get to the things you really came to see in just a minute, but let me just close with this. May each and every one of us, who sacrificed his or her life to serve America in this war effort, be remembered forever as heroes of the highest order. May we never forget their courage for as long as we live. Thank you."

After some more applause, she stepped back and Major Reynolds entered from the wings.

"Thank you very much, Wonder Woman. We deeply appreciate everything you've had to say. And now men, Wonder Woman will thrill us with some of her amazing feats that left many a Nazi and Jap spy befuddled, all the way to their comfy cells in Fort Leavenworth!"

"Thank you Major," she resumed the mike, "If I can have some volunteers from the audience..."

Almost immediately, every hand in the audience went up.

"No, no, no. We don't have all night."

"I do, I do!" a lone voice shouted from the front.

Wonder Woman came to the edge of the stage and smiled at the soldier in the front, "If you've got all night soldier, then you can be the one who can handle guard duty instead."

More laughter, and the soldier sheepishly sunk back in his chair.

For the next half-hour, Wonder Woman used four soldiers to demonstrate her amazing powers. Two of them fired their M-16 rifles at her, and she demonstrated her bullet-deflecting capabilities. The next two were subjected to a test of her golden lasso.

"Remember, this lasso compels people to tell the truth no matter what," she said, "The only time it ever failed me was when I tried to make Jack Benny tell me his age."

Her remark produced the biggest laugh of the evening, and from the wings, Steve doubled over. Strangely enough, Wonder Woman had made a guest appearance on the Benny radio show two years earlier and that had been the scenario written into the plot. In the script, Wonder Woman had asked Jack Benny to tell his real age, and when he continued to say 39, the golden lasso finally broke.

That experience had been memorable in more ways than one for Wonder Woman and Steve. A fifth columnist had attempted to blow-up the radio studio where the Benny program was broadcasting from, and Wonder Woman had been lucky to prevent it.

Just another one of many adventures they had shared together. All of them harrowing, but Steve never would have wanted his life to have unfolded in any other way.

Once the demonstrations with the GI's had ended, it was Steve's turn to enter from the wings.

"Thank you for your fascinating demonstrations, Wonder Woman," Reynolds said, "And now at this time, I'd like to introduce our other special guest from Washington, one of our greatest war heroes, Colonel Steve Trevor!"

Steve emerged to somewhat less applause than Wonder Woman had received, which he didn't mind in the least.

"Thank you Major Reynolds. Well men, I'm not here to try and follow what you've just seen. I'm here to let all of us know how we really feel about Wonder Woman."

He glanced over at her with a smile, "Wonder Woman, on behalf of the War Department, I ought to let you know that entertaining the fine men of Trinity Base Camp isn't the only reason why you're here tonight. You're also here so the War Department can finally give you the full honors you so richly deserve."

Wonder Woman looked at him in pleasant surprise.

"First, I'd like to read this letter that I think sums it all best. The letter reads, 'There can be no question, that none of us can ever fully express our gratitude to Wonder Woman for the fine work she has done in the war effort. It is my privilege therefore, to declare by Executive Order, that Wonder Woman be awarded the Distinguished Service Medal for valor.' Signed, Harry S. Truman."

As the GI's applauded, she shook her head in disbelieving amazement. Steve then came over to her, took the medal from his pocket, and placed it around her neck.

"Congratulations Wonder Woman," he grinned, "Your country is proud of you."

"I don't know what to say," she whispered, "Did you have this planned all along?"

"Of course." his grin widened, "And there'll be something else too."

She frowned slightly as she watched him go back to the microphone.

"Incidentally, the President's not the only one anxious to let Wonder Woman know what the government thinks of her. I'm also carrying special letters of commendation from Secretary Stimson, and General Marshall, and the Congressional leaders of both parties. And finally," he gripped the microphone tighter, "there's one more person who'd like to let everyone know what he thinks of Wonder Woman. This is from someone who's worked alongside her for the last three years, and who has not only come to admire her abilities, but who has also fallen madly in love with her."

Her smile faded, and Wonder Woman felt her body tensing. No Steve, she thought, you're not going to...

But he was.

"Now I think all of you, who've read about Wonder Woman's exploits, know that she and I have worked very closely together these last three years. And I have to be honest, I've owed my very life to her more times than I can ever remember. She's been more than a colleague to me, she's sort of been my guardian angel. And during that time, I had little idea that this guardian angel of mine was safely hidden in the guise of my own personal secretary, as a navy WAVE," his voice built up with enthusiasm, "But now that the long and terrible war is over, it's possible for the both of us to make some new plans."

He looked her dead in the eye, "Wonder Woman, I know it will break the hearts of all these fine men here, but it would deeply honor me if you would marry me."

As the wild applause erupted from the audience, Diana stared at him in cold silence.

Clever Steve, she thought, very clever. You can't wait for the answer you want, so you decide to force the issue in the open with a public declaration. A public declaration that would make it impossible for me to refuse.

Anger filled Diana. She was angry that Steve would try to force this on her in a public setting. Angry that he had openly revealed her secret identity. Angry that he almost seemed to be demanding that she accept, when he knew perfectly well that she had yet to resolve the issue.

All right, she conceded to herself, perhaps the intentions came from love. But what Steve was doing represented everything bad about men that she'd been taught all her life. Demanding, selfish, possessive. Even if Steve didn't mean it that way, that was the result.

As the applause continued to rise, and as Steve continued to smile at her, she gathered every ounce of her strength and slowly made her way over to him.

When she was two inches from him, she bit her lip and then slapped him violently in the face.

The crowd let out a startled gasp. Stunned, Steve rubbed his chin, and watched in dismay as Wonder Woman stalked off the stage in an angry huff.

Steve awkwardly looked at the audience, "Um, a little lovers quarrel, men. We'll have it straightened out later."

And then, he hurriedly ran after her.

An embarrassed Reynolds quickly ran up to the mike, "Um, that's all men. You're all dismissed. The program's over."

Thoroughly confused, the GI's rose from their seats and began to leave.

"I don't get it," the private who'd been sitting next to Bolle said, "Was that all an act or something?"

"Who knows?" he said, trying to keep the conversation very brief, "It's all very odd, that's for sure."

Whatever it meant, he thought, it didn't really matter. The two of them might be on bad terms at the moment, but one thing was certain. They were both going to die together.

"Diana, wait!" Steve called out as he caught up to her outside the rec hall.

"Go ahead Steve, go ahead." she wheeled on him angrily, "Tell my name for all the world to hear. Tell every last thing you know about me."

"Diana," he grabbed her hand, "I did that, because I wanted the whole world to know how I feel about you. I did that because I want you to know how much I can't bear the thought of losing you. I put myself on the line out there to let you know how I feel."

"And I told you I needed time to think about this," she seethed, "I told you last night not to push me. What kind of consideration are you giving me, when you can't even respect my wishes on a simple thing like that?"

"But--"

"Steve, I'm sorry. I know in your heart, you probably meant well. But all you've done is show me once and for all why we can never be together. I'm sorry. I'll always cherish the things we've shared together, but I am leaving the first thing in the morning and you will never see me again. It's over and done with for good."

She then ran off in the direction of her quarters.

"Diana!" he shouted, and started to run after her.

"Hold it Colonel!" an angry voice bellowed from behind.

Steve turned around and saw the glowering figure of General Groves.

"General," he mumbled.

"You've got a lot of explaining to do," the Manhattan Project commander came up to him, "What in the name of Christ Almighty was that dumb-ass stunt you pulled? This was supposed to be a simple function to honor Wonder Woman, and you turn it into a personal thing that makes the whole affair a fiasco!"

Trevor nervously cleared his throat, "I, I apologize sir, I..."

"Colonel," Groves dropped his voice down an octave, "If I had my druthers, I would write a report on you that would have you busted as low as you could possibly go. You would be the biggest laughing-stock in the face of the entire U.S. Armed Forces. But because you happen to be a great war hero, whose work I respect immensely, I am going to do something I shouldn't do. I'm not going to say a word about this to anyone. And I am also going to see to it that none of these men who've witnessed this spectacle, cause any trouble for you either, because they’ve all taken secrecy oaths when it comes to this project and that means they risk getting their asses thrown in the stockade if they ever blab about anything I don’t want them to talk about, which is going to include this incident of tonight."

"Thank you, sir," Trevor mumbled.

"But that’s the limit as far as any courtesies toward you go, Colonel." Groves voice grew more angry. "Get this straight. I am not going to let you and Wonder Woman anywhere near that test tomorrow. I don't give a shit what favors I owe General Blankenship, I will not have your presence turn zero-hour into a farce."

Steve stood stiffly at attention, and said nothing.

"I will tell General Blankenship you got sick, and could only watch the test from one of the bunkers outside your quarters. You can watch it there by yourself, but you are going to remain totally out-of-sight tomorrow to everyone else on this base, Colonel."

"Yes sir," Steve sounded defeated, "You don't have to worry about either one of us. Wonder Woman will be leaving tomorrow. As for me, well I still have to insist on going over a summary briefing with you once the test is over."

"Fair enough," Groves nodded, "That'll be all then."

"Yes sir," Steve was finding it difficult to keep his composure.

The general turned to walk away, and then stopped.

"Steve," he tried to sound more like a friend, "For what it's worth, I'm really sorry. This conversation wouldn't have been necessary if things had gone right."

"I'm sorry they didn't," his voice cracked, "But I guess life is never always fair."

When he finally turned and walked away, Steve Trevor found tears in his eyes for the first time in years.

Diana slammed the door shut to her quarters and locked it.

There were no tears this time. She couldn't permit it, ever. As far as she was concerned, Steve Trevor had to be a closed chapter in her life from this day forward.

Tomorrow, she would quietly arrange transportation back to Albuquerque. Then, she would return to Washington as Diana Prince. From there, she would take her invisible plane back to Paradise Island, where she would stay forever. Never to return to the country she had come to love, but which she now had to leave with bitterness and regret. There was no more work for her in America with Germany defeated. Nothing more to do for a war that would be ended thanks to the terrible bomb that was about to be tested. Nothing more to fight for in a world after that, when the superpowers would undoubtedly build arsenals of these terrible weapons and threaten the very existence of the world itself. All she wanted now was to escape from all that.

Regret and hurt over Steve would inevitably come. She knew she couldn’t deny that. But there was nothing more that could be done about that. To even see him again would only open more feelings of anger within her, and if she had any hope of cherishing past memories of him, then she knew she had to leave him sooner rather than later.

She lay down on her bed, and tried to block all thoughts of Steve out from her mind. Instead, she filled her mind with thoughts of Paradise Island. Of her mother. Of Drusilla. Of all her friends, and the life she now yearned to return to. Where she would spend the rest of her 5000 years of life in peace and tranquility. Where she would loyally worship and serve Aphrodite as the Queen of the Amazons.

She was smiling in contentment when sleep finally overtook her.

Steve didn't even think of knocking on the door to Diana's quarters. He had finally forced himself to admit that she was lost to him for all time.

He entered his quarters and dropped onto the bed, tears streaming down his cheeks.

She's lucky, he thought. She has 5000 years to forget all about me. But I know I'll never forget her in the 50 years I've got.

He absently picked up his Bible on the end table. For a moment, he wondered why he still bothered reading it, and why he still bothered to put any trust in a God who had not answered his prayer.

But as he opened it, he came to the familiar passages from the Old and New Testaments that always reassured him during a moment of crisis. As much as his anger and hurt made him want to turn his back on his faith, his sounder instincts always told him not to lose faith. This was certainly a tragedy in his life, but he'd go on. There would be new opportunities for him. He'd had a good life, and God would continue to make it good for him, no matter what.

When he finally turned off the light, there was still a pit in his heart, but one that he knew he could climb out of someday, somehow.

Major Reynolds had spent the last hour wondering if Groves was going to call him into his office for the express purpose of busting him in rank. It was with considerable relief when he realized that Groves had summoned him to talk of other things altogether.

"I want you to keep an eye on Dr. Oppenheimer during the test," the Manhattan Project commander said. "I’ve got...a feeling he might cause trouble tomorrow."

"How so?" Reynolds frowned.

"I’m not sure," Groves shook his head, "But....you know how Dr. Oppenheimer hasn’t exactly been a fountain of enthusiasm about this project. It’s best that...someone keep an eye on him and watch what he does while the test goes on. That’s all."

"Yes sir, I’ll do that," The major nodded and prepared to go. But then, he stopped and turned around and uneasily looked back at Groves, "Uh, sir....is there anything else?"

"No." Groves was looking down at some paperwork on his desk. "There’s nothing else, Major. Nothing else at all."

Reynolds realize though that he couldn’t be silent about the matter. He was the one who had been in charge of it, and sooner or later, the subject had to come up.

"Sir, I just want to say that I’m sorry about what happened—"

Groves suddenly looked up and gave the major a cold stare.

"Major," the general said quietly. "You are not even to mention the names of Wonder Woman or Colonel Trevor to me for the rest of your stay in Trinity. The incident is over and done with. The only thing I want you to make sure of is that both of them are out of my sight tomorrow."

"Yes sir," Reynolds obediently nodded. "Yes sir."

The major then left the room, leaving Groves to ponder what he regarded as something far more important than the spectacle of the evening.

It was hortly after midnight, when Steve came to as a result of the sound of knocking on the door.

He bolted up. Diana, he thought with half-asleep excitement. Diana's come over to talk.

He hastily stepped into his uniform pants, and threw his jacket over his bare chest in the space of ten seconds, as the knocking continued.

"Coming, coming," his voice rose with excitement. And then he opened the door, "Diana, I--"

His mouth fell open when he saw not Diana, but a corporal in green khakis.

"Corporal, what---"

The corporal smiled, "Guten abend, Colonel Trevor."

Steve had only three seconds to realize it, "Bolle," he whispered.

In the two remaining seconds, he saw Bolle raise a metal club and bring it squarely down on his skull. And then, his universe went completely black.

Diana had been sleeping rather soundly, when she heard the knock on the door.

Hera help me, she thought. Why does he have to do this?

"Steve, there's nothing to discuss. Don't make it difficult for yourself."

The knocking continued.

Warily, she rose from her bed and decided to confront him one last time.

"Steve--" she opened the door and let out a startled gasp when she saw the figure of Dietrich Bolle standing in the doorway, pointing a pistol at her.

"Ah, how nice to catch you without your bracelets, Wonder Woman," he smiled menacingly.

"Dietrich Bolle," she whispered in shock.

"Yes," he nodded, "No doubt, you expected to see me again at some point, but I correctly counted on the fact that you'd expect a knock on the door to be from Colonel Trevor. Just as he expected the knock on his door to be from you."

"What have you done to him?" her voice rose.

"He's unconscious for now, but that will change. In a matter of hours, both you and he will be quite dead."

"What are you going to do?"

Bolle let out a sinister chuckle, "I'll not bore you with all the details, but to put it succinctly Wonder Woman, you and Colonel Trevor will become the first victims of an atomic explosion."

She tried not to show any emotion, "In other words, you plan to kill two birds with one stone? Us, and the Manhattan Project?"

"Hardly," he shook his head, "You and the Colonel are all I'm interested in destroying. As for the Manhattan Project, there are some interesting things I've learned that my current employers will find fascinating, but my only concern is fulfilling my last duty to the Third Reich by disposing of the both of you."

"What do you mean, your 'current employers'? Haven't they authorized this little act of revenge?"

"Certainly not," he said coolly, "My Russian benefactors are only interested in information. If they knew about my plan to kill the both of you, it would get me into serious trouble."

She was stunned by the revelation that he was working for the Russians.

"The Russians?" she whispered, "The Russians have a spy ring in this country?"

"They have quite a few," he said smugly, "Now that their war of alliance against Germany is done with, the Russians are most anxious to get a head start on World War III. That's why I was recruited into their network."

"But why?"

"Because Comrade Stalin's vision of world order is remarkably similar to that of the Fuhrer," Bolle smirked, "Bolshevism may not be as pure as national socialism, but the longer I’ve worked on behalf of it, I find it reasonable enough for me."

Wonder Woman looked staggered. Everything she'd been told by Steve about the Russians had been true. If the Russians had no qualms about recruiting a Nazi monster like this, then that could only mean that they were a country that could never be trusted. For the first time, the meaning behind the Purge Trials, the forced starvation of the Ukraine, the Hitler-Stalin Pact, and the Katyn Forest Massacre finally became clear to her. Both Hitler’s Germany and Stalin’s Russia were two countries molded from the same clay of absolute evil.

And if Steve had been right about the Russians...

"Enough of this however," Bolle said, "It's your turn to die, Wonder Woman."

He pulled the trigger and a cloud of gas emerged from the barrel. And Diana felt herself slowly falling to the floor.

With smug satisfaction, Bolle carried Wonder Woman's limp body over to the jeep parked behind the VIP quarters. He threw her in the back next to Trevor's motionless form, and then covered them both with a tarpaulin.

He smiled as he got behind the wheel and started the jeep.

This time, he thought, there would be no screw-ups. This time, there would be no doubts. The two of them were finally going to die. He, Dietrich Bolle, would finally accomplish what no other Nazi had been able to do. Not the turncoat Fausta Gredel, not Baroness Von Gunther, not Wotan, not the Falcon. He alone, had been the one to destroy Wonder Woman.

He drove out of the base camp down the unguarded access road that led to Site Y, some twenty miles away.

Ten miles down the road, he pulled off onto the rugged desert. After going another nine miles along the empty terrain, he came to a stop.

One final phase to take care of.

Nine hundred feet from where he'd parked, lay a ditch that was forty feet deep and nearly impossible to climb out of. Perhaps easy for Wonder Woman, but definitely not for an unconscious Colonel Trevor.

He first took several cushioned mattresses that he’d stolen from their rooms and dropped them to the bottom very carefully. He wanted the bottom to be soft for a reason. When that was done, he took Steve's limp form and dropped him into the ditch. His body landed on the mattresses and broke his fall, preventing him from being injured any further in the drop. Which suited Bolle perfectly because he wanted Trevor to be conscious and awake when the end came, and more injuries from a fall like this might have denied him of the opportunity.

Then, he repeated the process with Wonder Woman. Like Trevor, her body landed on the mattresses he’d thrown down before, preventing any further injury from him.

Once he'd let go of her, he looked out into the night with satisfaction. Just one mile ahead, was the unmistakable outline of the shot tower. The last of the guards had departed earlier in the evening, and with the shelters unmanned for the moment, there was no danger of him being spotted.

He allowed himself a long evil laugh, and went back to his jeep. He knew he had very little time to get away while it was still dark.

Within a matter of moments, the unconscious figures of Steve Trevor and Wonder Woman, were totally alone and cut off in the heart of a place that in just a few short hours, was to know the hell-fire of an atomic explosion.

Chapter Ten

July 15, 1945

General Groves had arisen just after four in the morning, after only four hours of hasty sleep. Zero-hour was scheduled for 9:00 AM, and there was too much that needed to be finalized.

He promptly went across the camp grounds to keep his first appointment of the morning with Oppenheimer. Together, they went over the last of the details that needed attending to.

As Groves made his way over to the jeep that would take him to the South Shelter, he thought for a moment about stopping by Trevor's quarters and telling him he could come by after all. But the Manhattan Project commander quickly pushed the thought out of his mind. He couldn't back down on what he'd said last night. The sooner that whole farce could be forgotten, the better.

Still, as the jeep carried the general and the chief scientist over down the dusty road to the shelter, Oppenheimer chose to speak up.

"Unfortunate thing, last night," he said.

Groves merely nodded.

"I hope the two of them make up," Oppenheimer looked ahead, "They seem like a couple that belongs together."

Groves looked back at Oppenheimer and idly wondered if the chief scientist was desperately trying to find a way to take his mind off of the event that was about to take place.

He hoped to God it wasn't a sign that Oppenheimer would crack.

At zero minus sixty minutes, the last team of men to approach the shot tower arrived. Scientists Kenneth Bainbridge, George Kistiakowsky, and Joe McKibben, first stopped at a control station 900 yards to the tower's west, where they activated the timing relays for the various experiments that would be conducted. Then they turned their attention to the tower.

Standing underneath the tower, Bainbridge unlocked a box and threw a switch inside that completed the first phase of arming Fat Man.

Their work at the tower done, the three scientists got into their jeep and roared off for the South Shelter, where the final arming and firing would take place.

Zero minus thirty minutes. Inside the South Shelter, Bainbridge had opened the box on the control panel that threw the firing switch into the ready position. Fat Man was now fully armed and ready.

Robert Oppenheimer stood at the back of the shelter, clutching the battered sombrero, that in addition to the porkpie hat, had become a trademark of his. At that moment, he wasn't all that sure whether he hoped that the bomb he'd given four years of his life to developing would work, or whether he'd almost be relieved if it would fail.

At another end of the shelter, Groves began to rub his fingers in order to ease the tension.

Twenty miles to the northwest of the shot tower, a large group of Manhattan Project scientists stood atop a spot known as Componia Hill. Among the group that had gathered, was Klaus Fuchs. Though he looked as cool as a cucumber to all his colleagues, inside Fuchs was a basket case. Knowing that Dietrich Bolle was somewhere on the base for some sinister purpose, only made him fear that the worst might happen. That something would go wrong with the test, and that he would be caught up in the inevitable investigation that would follow.

Being a loyal communist, Fuchs was not a religious man. All the same, he found himself uttering a silent prayer that nothing would go wrong.

At zero minus twenty minutes, the booming sound of the national anthem erupted from the sound trucks by all of the shelters. A split second later, the "Star-Spangled Banner" was overshadowed by the voice of scientist Samuel Allison in the South Shelter, the man in charge of announcing the countdown, "It is now zero minus twenty minutes."

The final countdown had begun.

Six miles on each side of the shot tower, there was a burst of human activity in all of the shelters. The square region in between however, was all quiet, with only the instrument packages that would record the effects of Fat Man's explosion dotting the landscape.

But the silent desert that would soon experience a hellish inferno, was not deserted. Not completely.

Inside the ditch, one mile west of the shot tower, Diana stirred slightly as the effects of the gas began to slowly wear off. Her mind was still in a daze. In her subconscious she could hear a dim echoing sound that sounded faintly like the national anthem.

But the drug had yet to fully dissipate, and she collapsed back into the realm of sleep.

The countdown continued. On Componia Hill, the scientists quietly put on their special goggles to shield their eyes from the blast. Slowly, they took their positions on the ground. Their strict instructions were to lie totally prone until two minutes after the explosion, when the shock wave would pass.

Bill Laurence, the New York Times reporter selected to witness the test, grumbled slightly as he got on his stomach. He had long resented the fact that his observation post had been selected for here, twenty miles away from Trinity site, instead of one of the shelters six miles away. Because of that resentment, he had shed very few tears when he'd found out this morning that Wonder Woman would not be here to witness the test from the South Shelter after all.

At that very moment of his silent complaining, he heard one of the scientists behind him say, "Don't worry, you'll see all you need to. We want our chronicler to survive."

"Zero minus ten minutes," Dr. Allison's voice boomed from the speakers.

Bolle had recovered his abandoned rental car and immediately driven back up route 85 toward Albuquerque. Remembering that there was an APB on his car by the Albuquerque police because of the grenade attack three days earlier, he abandoned it again, twenty miles south of the city. The rest of the way, he would hitchhike and walk.

And why not? He didn't have to worry about time any more.

Although he was committed to returning to Santa Fe on the 24th for his final meeting with Fuchs, the safest thing for him to do now, was to return to the safe house in Virginia. He had to let Hauser, Becker and Sturber know what he had accomplished. And maybe then, they'd start to give him the respect he deserved.

And if they gave it to him, he could finally open a new chapter of his life as a committed Soviet operative.

Now that the burdens of the past were gone, Bolle found himself smiling with excitement about the future. Working for the Russians was going to be more satisfying than he'd ever thought.

"Zero minus five minutes."

With that, Allison activated the first of the sirens. A piercing wail that signaled the observers in all of the shelters, and even those watching from trenches back at the base camp, to take their final positions immediately.

A lone MP stumbled from behind a boulder to join his buddies in one of the trenches.

"How do you feel?" one of them asked him as he settled back in.

The MP grimaced, "I'm too damn scared to piss."

The siren picked up in intensity as the countdown continued.

Slowly, the fog inside Diana's mind started to lift. In the distance, the haunting echo of a siren seemed to be penetrating into her subconscious, getting more and more persistent.

She finally opened her eyes and came to a sitting position. Bolle, she thought and rubbed her forehead. What did Bolle do? Where am I?

Still wearing the thin nightgown she'd worn to bed, and half-covered with dirt, she tried to reorient herself.

A ditch? What is this?

She slowly got to her feet and then looked down. And then she gasped in horror, when she saw Steve's limp body, lying face down in the dirt.

"Steve!" she knelt by him and turned his body over. There was a bloody gash in his forehead and he was totally unconscious.

"Steve," she held him in his arms and began to cry softly, "Oh my darling Steve. What's happened to you?"

She quickly took his pulse. He was alive but in serious need of medical help.

Suddenly, Diana became more aware of the siren's echo in the distance.

"Hera help me," she whispered, "The test."

She grabbed Steve's wrist and looked at his watch. 8:57. She had exactly three minutes.

She quickly whirled into her Wonder Woman costume. And then, she braced herself and leapt as high as she could.

Her hands barely grabbed the top of the ditch, and she struggled briefly to pull herself out.

Getting to her feet, Wonder Woman looked around and saw the shot tower over one mile to the west.

For an instant, she frantically waved her arms in the hopes that someone in one of the shelters would notice her and stop the countdown. But that was too much wishful thinking. She had exactly one option if she was to save herself, and Steve.

"I've prayed to you long enough, Aphrodite," she whispered, "Help me now."

Gathering all of her Amazon strength, she began to run toward the distant shot tower. Ten times faster than the swiftest mortal could have run.

In the South Shelter, Groves continued to rub his fingers. Kistiakowsky stood next to Allison, and twitched with excitement. Oppenheimer continued to stand in the doorway of the control room, still clutching his sombrero.

He shot a glance at Major Reynolds, who'd been asked by Groves to keep an eye on the chief scientist. The constant self-doubt that had emanated from Oppenheimer ever since the project had begun, had made the Manhattan Project's commander worry that he might have a breakdown at the very last minute.

The chief scientist smiled weakly at Reynolds, "Lord, these affairs are hard on the heart."

"Zero minus two minutes," Allison intoned.

High above, a lone B-29 patrolled the airspace fifteen miles on the western edge of Trinity site, outfitted with movie cameras to record the explosion, and to take further instrument readings. In the cockpit, two observers, Dr. Luis Alvarez and Navy Captain William Parsons, watched and waited. The two were explosives specialists who had already been designated for assignment on the first atom bomb drop over Japan. For Parsons, it would be to arm the bomb known as 'Little Boy' en route to its target. For Alvarez, it would be to record the bomb's impact.

But for now, the two were to act as observers, and prepare themselves for what was to come three weeks in the future. If the test went off.

As Parsons slipped on his Polaroid glasses, he blinked for just a second. He almost could have sworn he'd seen something moving, down on the desert landscape just in front of the shot tower.

He adjusted his glasses and blinked again. No, it was probably just his nervous imagination.

He looked at his watch. 90 seconds to go.

Wonder Woman reached the base of the shot tower and looked up. The details of the briefing she'd gone through yesterday, came back vividly to her. Fat Man was concealed in an iron shed at the very top, 103 feet up.

Inside, the bomb would be on an oak wood platform, connected by tentacles to a shiny aluminum tank that housed the firing unit.

That was what she had to get to. In just 90 seconds. Could she possibly make it?

Her mind went back over 2000 years of conditioning her strength on Paradise Island. What challenges had she ever faced that were similar to this?

And then, in her mind's eye, the shot tower disappeared. Her mind saw only the seaside cliffs she'd learned to climb as a child on Paradise Island.

Yes, she thought. The cliffs. The two hundred foot cliffs that she'd learned to climb with her bare hands in just sixty seconds. The feat that had made her the most athletically gifted of all the Amazons.

Up the ladders she went, with a swiftness and grace that would have amazed any observer.

"Zero minus eighty seconds."

Allison sucked in his breath and killed the siren. A strange, eerie quiet now came over the men in the South Shelter.

"Minus seventy seconds," his voice began to pick up in tempo.

When Wonder Woman reached the top of the tower, there were still 60 seconds left. With one hand, she ripped the steel door to the shed off its hinges and dashed inside.

For a split second, she froze in horror. Three feet in front of her, lay the horrible weapon of destruction that had been dubbed "Fat Man." A 10,000 pound behemoth, four-and-a-half feet wide and ten-and-a-half feet long. And from its skin ran the tentacles that extended to the aluminum tank.

And with less than 60 seconds to detonation, Fat Man was becoming more and more active. The firing unit in the tank was growing ever hotter.

"Minus forty-five seconds."

At the control panel, Dr. McKibben turned on the switch that activated the automatic timer. The process of energizing the firing unit, had entered its final deadly phase.

The heat began to build inside the shed, and Wonder Woman nearly staggered back. It was rapidly becoming unbearable. But she knew that the heat she felt now would be nothing compared to what would happen in less than forty seconds. At zero hour, the heat at this spot would reach four times the temperature of the sun's core.

No, she thought. She couldn't fail now.

She struggled forward, removed her golden headband, and hurled it at the tentacles that connected Fat Man to the firing unit. With the other hand, she reached for the remaining tentacles and gave them a savage yank with all her strength.

Sparks erupted from the firing unit tank. Wonder Woman felt herself knocked back against the wall of the shed.

The grinding machinery inside suddenly came to a screeching halt, and the heat began to dissipate. Seconds later, the activity inside the shed had returned to a normal quiet.

Shorn from the firing unit, Fat Man had been rendered impotent.

Diana let out an enormous sigh and nearly collapsed under the terrible weight of her emotions. Finally, she let herself go and began to cry in relief. And when she whispered a prayer of relief, it wasn't to the ancient goddesses she'd revered all her life, but to a deity she'd never truly known before.

"Thank you God," she whispered softly, "Thank you."

"Minus thirty seconds."

McKibben's eye was on the four small lights of the voltmeter. Once they all turned red, the voltmeter would swing to the right, and that would mean that the firing unit was fully charged. There would literally be no turning back from that point on.

But the lights did not turn red.

"Holy shit," he whispered.

Without any hesitation, McKibben then pulled the one switch he'd planned on not making. The switch labeled "stop."

"Abort!" Allison screamed into the mike, "We have an abort! I repeat again, we have a systems abort! All systems shut down immediately!"

"What the hell happened?" Groves marched up to the panel.

"Something's happened with the firing systems. Indications are that all links with the firing system are dead."

The Manhattan Project commander sagged in disbelief, "Shit!" he bellowed, "All this preparation, and the systems get fucked up at the last minute!"

At the back of the control room, Robert Oppenheimer resisted the urge not to smile.

"Get some men out there immediately! I want to know what the hell went wrong!" Groves barked. "The sooner we find out, the better!"

On Componia Hill, there was stunned amazement from the scientists gathered there. As they took off their goggles, an anxious buzz began to build.

Klaus Fuchs took a long time taking his off, and when he did, he felt like he was going to throw up.

I don't know anything, he said to himself. I don't know anything. That's all that matters. I don't know anything.

A jeep from the South Shelter quickly got underway in less than a minute after Groves had relayed the order. Kistiakowsky, Bainbridge and Reynolds had volunteered to go find out what had gone wrong with Fat Man.

They had drawn to within a half-mile of the shot tower, when they suddenly detected a figure slowly climbing down the ladder. A figure in a familiar red and gold costume.

"Good God Almighty," Bainbridge exclaimed, "Do you see what I see?"

"Yeah," Kistiakowsky nodded, "I see it, but I don't believe it."

The jeep came to a stop, and Reynolds leapt out, on the verge of brandishing his pistol.

"Wonder Woman!" he angrily shouted, "Just what the hell do you think you're doing?"

She reached the bottom of the tower and slowly made her way up to him.

"I'm sorry Major. It was the only way."

"The only way?" he blurted in disbelief.

"Let me explain," she said calmly.

Moments later, Reynolds and Wonder Woman both leapt back into the jeep.

"Get us over to a ditch one mile west of the tower, pronto! We've got a wounded man there!"

Four hours later, with Wonder Woman sitting by his bedside, and a subdued Groves standing alongside, Steve finally opened his eyes.

"Oh," he moaned slightly, "What happened?"

"It's all right Steve," she smiled and squeezed his hand, "You're in the base infirmary, and you've got a nasty concussion. But you're going to be all right."

Steve opened his eyes and was stunned to see her warm, radiant face smiling at him.

"Diana," he whispered, "What happened to me? Bolle..."

"Your friend Mr. Bolle had some rather sick plans for both you and Wonder Woman," Groves said, "But thank God, she was in time to prevent them. Another thirty seconds, and the two of you would have been the first casualties of the atomic age."

He frowned, "I don't understand."

Diana gently recounted the details of what had happened to them.

"Good Lord," he muttered in disbelief and looked up at Groves, "What's the status of the bomb?"

"No need to worry about that. Wonder Woman had the foresight to merely slice the lines connecting the bomb to its firing units and those are easy to replace since it just means reconnecting new lines to the unit and using the other relays already in place. My men should have Fat Man back to full readiness by tonight. The test is being rescheduled for 5:30 AM tomorrow morning. Which is kind of ironic, because that was the originally scheduled time."

He sank deeper into his pillow, "Thank God for that. I hope it goes off well."

"It will," he said, "And Steve, I think you should know that I owe the two of you the biggest apology imaginable. When I didn't see you this morning, I'd simply assumed that you were staying inside your quarters like I'd told you to, and that Wonder Woman had already gone back to Albuquerque. If I had known better, I would have had the test suspended until you'd both been located."

"General, it's not your fault," Wonder Woman said gently, "None of it is."

"Any word about Bolle?" Steve asked.

"I just spoke to General Blankenship over the phone," Groves said, "All their efforts are going to be concentrated on nabbing him. But he's going to be delicate to handle, given the repercussions of who he's working for."

"He's working as a Russian spy, Steve," Wonder Woman said, "The attempt on our lives was a rouge operation, but his official reason for coming to New Mexico was to get information on the Project."

"The Russians," he looked up at the ceiling. "Incredible."

"Well there's a lot I've got to work on, so I'll leave you two alone for now," Groves made his way to the door, "I'm glad you're all right, Steve. This whole thing's a blessed miracle."

"How right he is," Steve said when they were alone, "And you're the greatest miracle of all."

"Oh Steve," she whispered and squeezed his hand, "Can you ever forgive me?"

He smiled wryly, "For what?"

"For being so cruel to you last night. You opened your heart to me in front of the whole world, and I literally emasculated you in public."

Steve managed to chuckle, "I wouldn't quite put it that way."

His remark managed to break the tension inside her, and she laughed too, "Does your offer still stand?"

"Of course."

"Then I accept," Diana said firmly, "After nearly losing you in the most horrible way imaginable, I don't ever want to let go of you again."

Steve felt the emotion rising inside him, "What about all those fears of the future, and the bomb and all that?"

Diana sighed, "Two things have happened that have made me reassess my views. First, the fact that Bolle is working for the Russians, forces me to admit that your doubts about them are correct. The Russians are no better than the Nazis, they're just more methodical. It's important for America to take a strong stand with them, because they are a country that can't be trusted."

"And the second?"

"It's kind of hard to explain," she said, "but I've been giving a lot more thought to what you've said about your God and the idea of His being in control of the world. The more I think about it, the more I realize that it's a vision I can accept as well. Even in the context of my own religion, the overriding message is that good will ultimately triumph over evil, but only if there are people here to help in that struggle. And that means that I have as much a responsibility to the world in the post-war era as I had during the war. I can't turn my back on it now."

He slowly exhaled, "I don't want to force you, Diana. I know I was wrong to pull that terrible stunt on you last night. It was the act of a selfish coward who wasn't willing to let you work things out as an equal. I need to know that you'd truly be happy by doing this. Don't do any of this just because you pity me."

Wonder Woman detached her lasso from her belt, "Put this thing around me."

He took it and slipped it over her.

"I have to tell the truth now," she squeezed his hand, "I want to marry you because I love you so much, and can't bear the thought of losing you. I want to stay in America because I've finally realized that there's still a lot of important things I can do to help both this country, and the world. And if we ever end up having any quarrels, we'll try to work them out like any other couple in love would do. That's the whole truth from the bottom of my heart, Steve."

Steve reached out and managed to pull her close to him, "My angel," he whispered, "My beautiful, perfect angel. I'm the luckiest man in the world."

Alone, they shared a long passionate kiss. Both of them grateful inside, that they'd managed to find their way back to each other. And knowing in their hearts that nothing short of death, would ever part them again.

Chapter Eleven: July 16, 1945

Shortly after one in the morning, Washington time, Bolle's commercial flight finally landed at National Airport. The other passengers, exhausted from the long flight that had resulted in two plane changes en route, mostly staggered down the steps and into the terminal.

Bolle however, descended the steps at a brisk and lively pace. Compared to the others, he was the picture of strength and vigor.

As he entered the terminal doorway, a trenchcoated figure came up to him, "Nice to see you again," the man mumbled.

Bolle looked him dead in the eye, "Ah, Hauser. Nice to see you again, too."

"Let's not talk here," Hauser kept his voice low, "Not until we're in the car."

"Of course," they began heading for the baggage area.

Fifteen minutes later, with the baggage retrieved, they exited the terminal and headed for the parking lot. Hauser's car, a pale blue DeSoto, was in the first row of the lot.

Hauser opened the rear door of the car and Bolle stepped in. Immediately, he noticed the heavyset form of Becker sitting on the other side.

"Sergeant Becker," he nodded politely.

"A pleasure to see you again, Herr Oberst."

Hauser slipped behind the wheel and started the clutch. Soon, the faded DeSoto puled out of the lot.

As they left the airport behind them, and headed toward Arlington, the long silence lingered inside the car.

"Dr. Fuchs provided some fascinating information about the project, that I'm sure your superiors will appreciate," Bolle finally broke the ice.

"They certainly will," Hauser's tone was neutral.

"And there is one other piece of information you should know," Bolle was bursting with pride, "Our revenge on Steve Trevor is at last complete."

There was only an indifferent silence from Hauser and Becker that disappointed the ex-SS colonel.

"Is it now?" Becker finally spoke, "How did you accomplish that, Herr Oberst?"

"He and Wonder Woman were both there to witness the test. But I saw to it that they witnessed it from ground zero. The end was rather swift for them both."

"Really," Hauser was equally indifferent as he continued to drive.

Bolle began growing exasperated, "Why does all that not impress you?"

Hauser pulled over to the side of the road, stopping next to a guard railing that overlooked a steep hillside.

"Herr Oberst," he turned around and looked at him with a cold stare, "None of us are impressed by the foolish failures of a man who can never learn to put the past behind him."

"Failures?" Bolle was startled, "What are you talking about? There was no failure. They're dead. They were incinerated. Vaporized."

"Tell us how that could have happened to them, when no test took place yesterday, Herr Oberst," Becker's tone was a mixture of sarcasm and coldness.

Bolle's jaw fell open, "Not possible," he whispered, "Not possible. The test took place at nine AM, yesterday."

"True, it was supposed to take place yesterday," Becker acknowledged, "But I'm afraid Wonder Woman had other ideas."

"No," he shook her head, "Impossible. Absolutely impossible."

"I'm afraid not, Herr Oberst," Hauser shook his head, "Unless I'm prepared to believe that Klaus Fuchs and Harry Gold are the most outrageous liars on the face of the earth. But experience has taught me to trust them a lot more than I'd ever trust you."

"I don't---" he started.

"Your little trap for Wonder Woman, turned out to be a miserable failure," Hauser went on, "And it didn't take the good Dr. Fuchs more than ten seconds to realize who was responsible for that bizarre trap. Did something awful to his nerves. That's why he immediately went in to Socorro to make a coded phone call to his friend in New York, Mr. Harry Gold. And two hours later, Mr. Gold places a coded phone call to me, telling me all the wonderful details of how you'd decided to spend your spare time in New Mexico. And it just so happens that things are even more difficult for us, because Wonder Woman has already informed military intelligence that her would-be assassin chose to reveal to her that his present employer was the Soviet Union."

Bolle was looking about in stunned disbelief. He looked at Becker's cold glare and began to feel the hair rising on his neck.

"You have left us with no option, Herr Oberst," Becker began to reach in to his pocket, "Our superiors have given us just one chance to remain in favor with them. It pains us that we must disgrace our former commander's memory, but I'm certain he would understand."

"And you should too, Herr Oberst," Hauser added, "After all, in your heyday with the SS, you authorized many similar executions."

"No," Bolle whispered in fear, "No."

"Oh yes," Becker was nonchalant as he pulled out his pistol, "Goodbye, Herr Oberst."

Acting quickly, the SS colonel suddenly delivered a quick blow to Becker's face, causing the heavyset sergeant to drop the gun. He then scrambled for the door and spilled out of the car.

"Get him!" Hauser shouted as he undid the door on his side, "Schnell!"

Bolle climbed over the roadside railing and began sprinting down the hillside.

Above, Becker got to the railing, pointed his pistol and fired into the darkness.

Grim-faced, Hauser stared down into the dark valley below. It was next to impossible to see. Their ears then perked up when they heard the distant sound of a police siren.

"It's too dangerous to stay and look," Hauser said, "But he can't get far. We'll get in touch with some men who can take care of him in a more professional manner."

"Zero minus two minutes," Dr. Allison's voice boomed through the PA system.

"Time to put on the glasses," Steve said as he slipped his on. Lying next to him in the trench, Wonder Woman did so too.

"Is your head giving you any trouble?" she asked.

"It is, but I can manage for now."

"Zero minus ninety seconds."

She squinted through her glasses to the distant sight of the shot tower, "We'll know soon enough if the men were able to repair the damage I caused to the firing relays."

"Cross your fingers, Diana," Steve grunted, "A million soldiers designated for Operation Olympic, are counting on this."

"I am."

"Zero minus sixty seconds."

Slowly, the countdown continued.

"Minus tens seconds," Allison's increasingly nervous voice was accompanied by the sound of a gong.

Instinctively, Diana squeezed Steve's hand. She'd never known seconds to last so long.

"Minus five, four, three, two, one, ZERO!" Allison's last word was a scream.

And then, Dr. McKibben threw the switch that sent the final charge of high voltage into the firing unit up in the shot tower, that Wonder Woman had shut down the previous day.

It was 5:29 and 45 seconds, Mountain War Time, on July 16, 1945. The beginning of a new, uncertain era in world history.

Later that morning, Wonder Woman sat alone outside Groves' office, waiting for Steve and the general to finish a Top Secret telephone conversation with Secretary of War Henry Stimson in Washington.

As she waited, she saw a thoroughly subdued Robert Oppenheimer enter the room.

"Dr. Oppenheimer?" Wonder Woman rose, "I wanted to be the first to congratulate you."

The chief scientist seemed oblivious to her.

"Dr. Oppenheimer?" she gently repeated.

"Hmmm?" he noticed her for the first time, "Oh. Yes. Thank you, Wonder Woman. I think."

Her expression became one of empathy, "You still have doubts."

Oppenheimer smiled thinly, "Tell me Wonder Woman, when you saw that flash and that mushroom cloud, what was your reaction?"

"Mixed," she said, "But strangely enough, I was less horrified than I thought I might be."

"Really," he was intrigued.

"What I saw was terrible and horrible," she went on, "But I also remembered that it was something that had been developed to prevent something even more horrible. A bloody invasion of the Japanese mainland. A small evil was needed to prevent a greater evil from happening."

Oppenheimer chuckled mirthlessly, "Your optimism is far greater than mine, I am afraid."

"What did you think, Doctor?" Wonder Woman gently prodded, "What went through your mind?"

The chief scientist gazed off into the distance, "'If the radiance of a thousand suns were to burst at once into the sky," he recited, "'That would be like the splendor of the Mighty One. I am become Death, the shatterer of worlds.'"

Her expression became taut, and she was silent for a moment.

"An ancient Hindu epic," she noted, "The words of Bhagavad-Gitta."

"I'm impressed," Oppenheimer turned back to her, "You're very well-versed in literature."

"I've tried to understand a lot of things," she said, "And believe me Dr. Oppenheimer, I sympathize deeply with the way you feel. You're afraid that from now on, wars are going to be fought solely with weapons as terrible as that. You're afraid that it will mean the beginning of the end for civilization as we know it, and that you might one day have to carry the terrible burden of knowing that you set that chain of events in motion."

"Remarkable," he whispered in admiration, "Not only are you very intelligent, Wonder Woman, you are also a woman of gifted insight."

Wonder Woman came up to him, a look of gentle sympathy filling her face.

"Dr. Oppenheimer," she said softly, "As much as I feel compelled to think that you might be right about that, there's something in my heart that tells me you're wrong. The way I see it, the atomic bomb just might prove to be the one thing that will be able to keep the peace in this world. Not because it is a weapon we'd so easily use, but for the very reason that it is a terrible weapon of mass destruction. Because of that, nations are going to be more cautious than they've ever been before. It just might be that we'll never again see a dictator like Hitler launch a blitzkrieg thrust, or a bloody ground war of conquest. Not if nations have to worry about the bomb."

Oppenheimer looked down at the floor.

"In the end, the bomb might turn out to further the peace than we could have imagined," Wonder Woman persisted, "Think about it, Doctor."

He finally looked back up at her and began to pace about.

"I hope you're right," Oppenheimer sighed, "But I'm afraid I have little faith in human nature."

"Maybe it's not human nature we have to have faith in, Doctor," she responded, "But rather faith in the mercy of God. If there is a God who controls the course of history, then I seriously doubt that He will ever allow the world to be consumed in a nuclear fireball."

The agnostic Oppenheimer smiled thinly at her and then slowly walked away. "Think about it Doctor," she called after him, "Think about it."

But there was no response, as the chief scientist opened the door and left with nothing but a sense of intense pessimism and gloomy foreboding. A pessimism that would lead Robert Oppenheimer to oppose the development of the Hydrogen bomb in the early 1950s, and make statements against the arms race that would lead many to brand him a communist sympathizer, and cause his security clearance to be revoked.

By the time of his death in 1968, the words Wonder Woman had just spoken at Trinity would be long forgotten by him.

At nine PM, the MATS plane carrying Steve and Diana back to Washington, landed at Andrews Air Base. As Wonder Woman helped Steve down the steps, he was visibly surprised to see a battery of photographers and newsreel cameramen waiting.

"Colonel Trevor, Wonder Woman, if you could please comment on..." they all were shouting.

"Boys, boys," Trevor was confused, "What's this all about?"

"Well sir, there are rumors coming out of New Mexico that you and Wonder Woman had an important announcement to make, as soon as you'd both returned."

"I don't--" he started and then looked at Wonder Woman, who was smiling mischievously.

"Ah, yes," Steve nodded and turned back to the cameramen "Yes we do. Wonder Woman and I are both proud to announce to you fine members of the press, and to the people of America, that we have become engaged to be married. We have not yet set a wedding date, but when we do, we'll all be glad to let you know. Thank you, that's all."

"Wonder Woman, could you---?"

"You've got your story, gentlemen," she said beaming before the camera, "That's all for now. Run back and try and beat each other to get the news out first."

They made their way through the throng and into the base terminal. Slowly, the reporters began to break-up and start a footrace for the nearest phone.

From inside the safety of the terminal, Steve tenderly wrapped his arm around Diana's waist, "Now I understand why you paid a visit to the cockpit. To radio ahead for reporters to be here."

"Yes," she smiled, "I felt you deserved another chance to make a public announcement."

"I'm glad you did. What other surprises do you plan for us?"

"Well there's another one I've been dying to do for a long time, for the benefit of our dear friends in the office."

Steve began to break into laughter as he got the idea, "God, I can hardly wait to see that."

Chapter Twelve: July 17, 1945

Bolle had been forced to seek refuge in a local mission house in southern Washington, after escaping from Hauser and Becker the night before. It had been a troubling day for him. His back was now against the wall, and he didn't know any way out. Wanted by the Americans for attempted murder, hunted now by the only ones who could have been his allies.

As dawn came to Washington, he quietly slipped out of the mission and began to walk about the city streets, lost in thought.

He noticed a copy of the Washington Times-Herald, lying on a newsstand and saw the bold headline across the front. WAR HERO AND HEROINE TO WED.

Underneath the headline, a picture of Colonel Steve Trevor and Wonder Woman, smiling to reporters at Andrews Field.

He absently bought a copy and began to read the article, as he resumed walking down the largely empty streets of Washington.

As he read, he was drawn back to the photograph of the two of them smiling their happy smiles. And only then, did the sense of anger and outrage finally return to him. The picture of smug arrogance and sense that they had finally won.

You haven't won, he thought with lonely defiance. I can't let you win. I refuse to die without any honor.

As he continued to read the paper and walk down the street, he barely noticed a raincoated figure walking toward him.

But as the man drew closer, he could see movement underneath the raincoat. That set off a warning bell inside him. He'd seen and trained scores of men inside the SS to act just like the man he saw now. Just before they came alongside their target and shot them in the heart.

Still keeping his eyes on the newspaper, Bolle waited until he was just three feet away, and then he abruptly delivered a karate blow to the man's neck.

The man collapsed to the ground moaning in agony. As he hit the sidewalk, a gun clattered out from underneath his raincoat.

And then, Bolle began to run as fast as he could until he disappeared around the corner, leaving his would-be-assassin with no clue as to where he had gone.

A half-hour later, the phone rang in the Virginia safe house. Hauser picked it up on the first ring.

"Yes?" his voice was anxious.

"There is bad news," the voice on the other end said simply, "The attempt to remove the cancer was unsuccessful."

"What?" he blurted in disbelief, "How can that be?"

"I'm afraid he was able to figure it out before I could act on it. There is no way of knowing where he has gone to now."

"You idiot," Hauser snapped, "You're the same man who eliminated General Krivitsky in 1941 under more difficult circumstances. I was assured that you were the best for this sort of operation."

The man ignored Hauser's reference to the assassination of a top Soviet defector to the U.S. four years earlier, "I will have the other members of our apparatus fan out and try to locate him. One way or another, Sergeant, we will bring him down."

"You'd better," Hauser snarled, "The security of every Soviet spy operation in this country is depending on it. If the Americans should recapture him again, then you can be assured that I'll have some harsh words with Moscow about your gross stupidity."

"Do not talk so tough," the man mildly retorted, "You and your organization will need to explain just as much to Moscow about why this unstable man was recruited in the first place."

His remark seemed to intimidate Hauser into silence.

"I will contact you if there are any new developments," the man rubbed his sore neck, "Goodbye."

And with that, he hung up and resumed walking down the largely empty Washington streets.

"Good morning Etta," Yeoman Diana Prince said brightly as she entered the office in the Pentagon.

Etta looked up from the newspaper she was reading in stunned amazement, "Diana," her normally wide-eyed expression was at its widest, "Did you see this?"

She then held up the newspaper with its bold headline and photo.

"Hmmm," Diana smiled wryly as she came up to her and stared at the headline through her glasses, "I don't think I did."

"That's all you've got to say?" Etta's eyes bulged to the size of baseballs, "Diana, do you realize what this means? They're actually getting married."

"Yes, that's what it looks like," Diana continued to smile, but her tone was still restrained.

Etta threw down the paper on the desk, "Oh come on, Diana. This time you're really going too far. For three years I've never seen you get excited over anything. But this time, you've got to have something to say about your boss marrying Wonder Woman. You've got to have some kind of reaction that's stronger than this."

Diana began to laugh and she patted her friend on the shoulder.

"What's so funny?"

"Etta," she shook her head slightly, "I can't do this to you anymore. You've been a dear friend for the last three years, and it's time I tell you the truth."

"Huh?" Etta frowned, more confused than ever.

Diana stepped back, removed her glasses, and went into one of her magical spins.

A split second later, the fully costumed figure of Wonder Woman stood before Etta.

Etta's jaw fell open. She stood frozen like a statue.

"Well?" Diana grinned coyly.

Her eyes rolled up and Etta promptly fainted to the floor.

Wonder Woman quickly helped her into a chair, just as Steve entered the office, his head still bandaged.

"What happened?"

"I told her, and she fainted," Diana said.

"Etta? Etta?" Steve sounded concerned as he patted her on the cheek.

She opened her eyes and looked up, "Oh my God Colonel, I thought I---

"You're not dreaming, Etta," Wonder Woman said gently, "It's true."

She looked over at her, "I think I'm going to faint again."

"Have some water and relax," Steve handed her a glass.

"I'm sorry I startled you Etta," she came up to her, "I didn't know how else I could break it to you."

Etta finished the glass in one hasty gulp, "Oh God, I don't believe it. I just don't believe it. All the time..."

"I know," Diana smiled, "In a ways, it's been kind of cruel of me. But I'd like to make it up to you by asking you to be the maid of honor at our wedding next week."

Slowly, Etta began to collect her emotions, "God, I don't know what to say Wonder Woman, I..."

"I'm still Diana," she tried to sound reassuring, "And I'd like you to say yes."

She set the glass down, "Diana I, well I guess the answer is yes."

"Thank you," she hugged her, "You've always been a dear friend. I'm glad you can be a part of this."

"Oh God, someone wake me up and tell me I'm dreaming," Etta handed the glass back to Steve who went over and refilled it, "All the time, the one person in the office I've been closest too is Wonder Woman."

"Etta, Etta," Diana patted her on the shoulder, "Relax."

"How do you expect me to relax?" she took the glass from Steve and once again finished it in a hasty gulp, "This is the biggest shock of my life. Oh God, I think I'll be ill."

"Just take it easy, Etta," Steve said gently, "Everything's all right and you're among friends."

"I'm sorry I shocked you," Diana began rubbing her shoulder, "It was a cruel trick. Forgive me."

She slowly shook her head and seemed to regain some of her composure, "I'll think about that," she smiled weakly.

Wonder Woman smiled and turned back to Steve, "Obviously, I should break the news to General Blankenship in a different manner."

"Obviously," Steve chuckled, "Speaking of which, you and I should go see him now and try to get an update on Dietrich Bolle and the Russian spy ring."

"Better that I stay in costume. That way I'll spare him the fright I just gave poor Etta."

"I agree."

"Is there anything else I can get you, Etta?" she looked back at her friend with concern.

"No, no," the plump WAC waved her hand and calmly exhaled, "I'll be fine. Really."

"Good. And for now Etta, keep this thing a secret."

"What are you talking about?" she looked at her with a crooked smile, "I didn't see anything."

They both smiled back at her and departed, leaving her all alone in the office.

Etta let out another sigh as she tried to regain her composure, "Diana, you sneaky rat."

Moments later, Steve and Wonder Woman were both in Blankenship's office.

"Steve, Wonder Woman," he was beaming with pride as he rose from his desk, "May I offer you both my congratulations and my hope that you'll both find years of happiness together."

"Thank you General," Steve shook hands with him and sat down.

"We appreciate that sir," Wonder Woman added as she sat next to him, "Although for now, there are more important things we need to discuss with you."

"Yes," the general's tone grew somber, "Dietrich Bolle and the presence of a Russian spy ring in this country."

"Which I am most anxious to see nabbed," Steve said, "Not just because of the attacks on Wonder Woman and me, but it shouldn't be forgotten that they've got the blood of the Fort Myer intelligence officer on their hands as well."

"I'm afraid so far, we haven't been able to turn up anything," the director of military intelligence said sadly, "We don't even know how a loyal SS man like Dietrich Bolle could have ever wound up working for the Russians."

"Steve," she looked over at him, "Isn't it possible that the men who recruited Bolle would logically have been former Nazi operatives as well? I don't think it would have made much sense for the Russians themselves to go to the trouble of doing it."

"Is that possible?" Blankenship looked back at him.

Steve nodded, "It is. There are still three other members of the Iron Brigade who were never apprehended. It could be that they cast their lots with the Russians initially, and then tried to bring Bolle in as a sort of tribute to their former commander. Believe me, they were all quite devoted to Gunther Bolle."

"That wouldn't surprise me," Wonder Woman shook her head in disgust, "I've learned the hard way that the Russians and the Nazis have a lot more in common than I ever realized."

"Well whatever the case might be, this whole affair raises a lot of troubling questions with regard to the Russians," Steve looked back at Blankenship, "Has any of this been brought up over at Potsdam?"

The director of military intelligence uneasily shook his head, "If you're asking if the subject's been raised with Stalin, the answer is no. And in all likelihood, the subject is never going to come up. Not for the immediate future at least."

"Why not?" Wonder Woman could scarcely believe it, "If we're going to be taking a firm posture with them, we have to let them know what we think about having them spy on our projects."

Blankenship sighed, "I agree with you Wonder Woman, but for now, General Marshall and everyone else among the higher-ups don't want there to be any disruptions in the Alliance just yet. There are a lot of things still connected to this war that haven't been straightened out, such as whether Germany gets partitioned permanently, and we still need Russian cooperation to take care of them. For now, we have to put the whole matter of the Russian spy operations on the backburner. Any confrontational posture toward Stalin will have to come later."

Steve was clearly displeased by this information, "It's a rotten game."

"I know, but now that we've entered a new age, the politicians are going to be taking a lot of the decisions out of our hands. We just have to do as we're told in the meantime. If you develop any information on Bolle's spy ring itself, you have my blessing to do whatever you can to nab them. But it can't go any further than that. This isn’t World War III we’re fighting."

"Very well," Steve said, "We'll do that. I won't stop until that ring is taken care of."

"Try to relax for now, Steve," Blankenship smiled and changed the subject, "You and Wonder Woman have a lot more important things ahead of you."

"Thank you sir," she smiled, "And speaking of which, there's something Steve and I think we should both let you know."

"Oh?" he lifted an eyebrow.

"It's about who I really am," she said as she rose, "There's no point in keeping it secret from you."

She went into a graceful pirouette and seconds later, she stood before the general, properly uniformed as Diana Prince.

Blankenship's jaw fell open and he slowly shook his head.

"Well, sir?" Diana smiled and saluted sharply, while Steve suppressed the desire to break out in laughter.

"Son-of-a-gun," the general whispered, "I never would have guessed."

"Brilliant, isn't she?" Steve beamed with pride.

Blankenship managed to smile, "Incredible. I'll be sure to regard that information as Top Secret."

"We'd appreciate that for now, sir," Diana said.

"Good day sir," Steve saluted and rose to leave.

When they were both alone in the hallway, they finally felt safe enough to laugh long and loud.

That night, Steve and Diana enjoyed a quiet dinner together at her K Street apartment.

"Is it all set up then?"

"Yes," he said, "Next Monday at the Cathedral. I know it's kind of large, but the guest list can be kept to a minimum."

"Good, there aren't that many that I would invite, beyond eleven or twelve from the War Department."

"I sure wish Drusilla could be here."

"I wish she could too," Diana nodded, "But that would mean going back to Paradise Island now, to let her know. And I'd rather not confront my mother about this until after the wedding, when we can do it together."

"What's the best way to tell her all this?"

"The obvious," she said, "That it's time for some of the women of Paradise Island to finally have a chance to move on to new things in the world."

Steve finished the last of his dinner and leaned back in his chair, resting his cast against the side, "Do you think Drusilla might get the idea that she should be allowed to come here for good, too?"

Diana leaned back in her chair with a pensive expression.

"That's a good question," she said, "I wouldn't know how to answer that. Dru's only been here about five or six times, and she's really enjoyed it. It'd be all too easy for her to think that there's a full-time place in America available for both Wonder Woman and Wonder Girl."

"One more tough question to deal with," Steve acknowledged.

"We'll deal with it," she said firmly, "As far as I'm concerned, there isn't anything that can't be dealt with, with regard to my family."

"I wouldn't get too overly optimistic, Diana," he cautioned, "If your mother refused to accept what you've done, then what's the worst thing that could happen?"

Diana's lips thinned into a straight line and she didn't say anything for a moment.

"Diana, we really need to go over this. If something bad happens as a result of this, we need to be prepared to deal with it."

The official heiress to the Amazon throne let out an uneasy sigh.

"The worst," she mused, "I guess the worst would be a permanent exile from Paradise Island, which I could learn to deal with. And if she decided to go any further, she might strip me of my powers that allow me to be Wonder Woman in this country."

Steve came up in his chair, "Diana, you can't let her do that. Your powers as Wonder Woman are absolutely essential if you're to do any good."

"I know," she nodded.

For the rest of the dinner, there was an air of unease, all the way up to when they said goodnight to each other and parted for the night.

As Diana stayed up into the early hours of the morning, she wondered again and again how to keep another terrible Pandora's box from being opened. A box that could tear apart not only her immediate family, but her entire people as well.

But one thing was clear to her. Whatever, the outcome, her place would remain with the man she loved.

As the day ended on Paradise Island, Hippolyte had retreated to the coolness of her palace to escape the summer heat. It had been a long, tiring day for her, and she decided to relax and listen to the short-wave radio Diana had given to her. She had never ceased to be fascinated by that remarkable toy that could tell her all about what was happening in the world. With it, she could hear for herself all the troubles and evils that men inflicted on their domain, and always she would turn it off and thank Aphrodite for the safety and security of Paradise Island.

Her chief attendant Magda, brought the radio in and Hippolyte anxiously turned it on.

A crackle of static erupted. Magda quickly fiddled with the knob until she found a clear signal.

"....A premature dawn came to the small desert villages of southeastern New Mexico yesterday, when a major explosion took place at the nearby Alamogordo air base."

"Leave it there," Hippolyte commanded. Magda nodded and then departed.

"Army Major General Leslie Groves, who was at the base, told the Associated Press that quote, an ammunition magazine, containing high-explosives and pyrotechnics had exploded in a remote sector of the air base, unquote. The explosion produced a brilliant flash that was visible as far away as Gallup, New Mexico, which is 235 miles to the northwest. General Groves said that there were no injuries as a result of the explosion."

Hippolyte quietly settled onto her couch and began to sip from a wine chalice.

"The big story of the day however, occurred last night at Andrews air base in Maryland, when a celebrated war hero and heroine met with reporters to announce their engagement. After three years of speculation by their many admirers, the fabulous Wonder Woman and Colonel Steve Trevor confirmed to the world that their relationship was more than just professional."

Hippolyte froze and suddenly dropped her chalice. It struck the floor and shattered into a myriad of tiny pieces.

"The happy couple said that a wedding date had not yet been set, but that it would occur some time soon."

The Amazon queen began to seethe inside. With each passing second, her rage kept growing, deeper and deeper.

"Turning now to the sports pages, the Chicago Cubs bolstered their pennant hopes by acquiring pitcher Hank Borowy from the Yankees..."

"No," Hippolyte mouthed quietly as she moved toward the radio, "No!"

As she screamed out the word, her hands came down on the radio set, smashing it into permanent silence.

Hearing her shout, Magda hastily entered the room, "Is something wrong, my Queen?"

Hippolyte was trembling visibly over the smashed ruins of the radio set, "I want to see my daughter now. Immediately."

"The Princess Drusilla is spending the evening on the hunting expedition, over on the south side of the island," she frowned slightly.

She looked up at her, "I didn't mean Drusilla, I meant---" she then stopped herself.

Magda's frown deepened.

The Queen straightened herself and assumed her familiar regal bearing, "Send someone out and have Drusilla brought back here. I need to talk to her immediately."

"Yes, my Queen," Magda bowed and departed.

Alone, Hippolyte settled back onto the couch, breathing heavily to vent her rage.

"I won't let you do this, Diana," she whispered and pounded her fist against the couch, "You've crossed the line too far now."

"I hope there's a good reason for sending Magda out to drag me back here, Mother," Drusilla didn't try to hide her annoyance as she entered Hippolyte's chamber

"There is," she struggled to stay calm, "A very good reason."

Her younger daughter let out an almost exasperated sigh, "Mother, if it's about the fight I had with Phaedra last week, I don't want to hear about it."

"That isn't the reason," Hippolyte's tone grew sharp, "This is about Diana. Your sister has crossed a line of disobedience that isn't going to be tolerated by me."

Drusilla tensed slightly, "What are you talking about?"

"She has decided to marry that Steve Trevor person," the Queen barely forced the words, "It is something I cannot allow."

Drusilla's eyes widened in surprise. And then, she had to summon every ounce of her strength to avoid smiling in delight.

"Do you understand what this means?" Hippolyte went on, "Your sister, the heiress to the throne, has decided to abandon us forever. She has chosen to turn her back on our ways. That cannot possibly allowed if we are to survive as a people."

Her daughter bit her lip to keep herself under control, "You want me to go and tell her about your ultimatum?"

"It isn't an ultimatum," she scolded, "You tell her it's a direct command from her Mother, and her Queen. And I expect her to obey it."

Drusilla sucked in her breath, "What do I tell her if she refuses?"

Hippolyte came up to her, her eyes glowering, her regal bearing at its fullest.

"You tell her that I have ways of making her comply," her voice was cold, "I have tolerated her presence in America only because I knew she would one day return to Paradise Island, and resume her rightful place among us. I will not have her contaminate our people by leaving this place. If Diana is permitted to leave and enter marriage to a mortal man, then soon, others will demand the same rights as well. Eventually, our way of life, our values of peace and sisterhood would die off. I refuse to let that happen. Not while I am the Queen of the Amazons."

Drusilla stared back at her with a look that suggested a refusal to be intimidated.

It did not go unnoticed, "Do you understand what I'm saying, Drusilla?"

"I understand," she nodded, but refused to alter her expression, "And I'll certainly tell her everything you've said."

"Good," Hippolyte turned away with a flourish, "Depart immediately, my daughter. There is little time to waste."

Trying to conceal her contempt, Drusilla exhaled and left her mother's chambers.

An hour later, dressed in her Wonder Girl costume, Drusilla was flying her own invisible plane toward Washington. Spending the entire flight time thinking about how she was going to tell Diana about their mother's threat.

There was little doubt in her mind that Hippolyte had gone too far. If Diana wanted to marry Steve Trevor, then that was something Hippolyte could not, and should not, try to prevent.

Drusilla had made six visits to America in the last three years, and had become a public figure in her own right as Wonder Girl. In those six visits, she had come to see why Diana found the outside world so attractive. And she had also come to know Steve Trevor well enough, to understand why her sister had fallen in love with him.

Mother, she said to herself, it's gone on long enough. You have to eventually let us live in the real world again. What good are the ideas and values you've taught us, if we can't share them with the rest of the world?

You have to let us love again, too. For all the wisdom, knowledge and strength you've given us, we're not perfect. There are things we need to learn from the outside world. Things Diana has learned. Things I want to learn.

Incredible, she thought. It's so easy to think all this, but how in the name of Aphrodite do I ever say any of that to Mother's face?

Diana, I hope you've got an answer for that.

Chapter Thirteen: July 18, 1945

Drusilla had gently put her invisible plane down in an open field just to the northwest of Washington. The same spot she'd always chosen on every one of her previous six visits in the last three years.

Once again, she knew that making her way to Diana's apartment on K Street would not be easy because as always, her mother had forced her to destroy the clothes she'd worn home to Paradise Island. That meant she had to make her way down in either her antiquated robes, or her Wonder Girl costume.

As she got out of the plane, she decided on the latter option. In her previous visits she'd established her own identity as Wonder Girl, so it would definitely be a better option to admit that truth if anyone took notice of her.

As she passed the National Cathedral, she estimated a five mile walk. In the early morning hours, she might be able to make it before it got too crowded.

And maybe it'd give her more time to think about what she was going to say to Diana.

Bolle had spent more than a day working his way across to the other side of Washington. The only way to keep one step ahead of the KGB was to never stand still in the same place.

He had spent all that time trying to formulate a plan that would somehow enable him to climb out of the hole he'd dug himself in. It could only be a plan that would somehow get him back into the Russians good graces.

But how?

As dawn began to break over the clear sky, Bolle found himself walking through the Embassy Row section of Georgetown. Past the locked gates of the empty German Embassy, past the house on S Street where President Wilson had spent his last days and where his widow still lived, and into the fashionable residential and shopping neighborhoods.

He suddenly stopped in his tracks as he noticed a solitary figure walking down the other side of the street. A young girl. Wearing a distinctive red-and-gold costume with a golden headband, belt, and lasso.

No, it couldn't be. No it wasn't Wonder Woman, that was for sure, but...

Bolle snapped his fingers as his mind drifted back to a report he'd read once at SS headquarters about Wonder Woman. A report that indicated that on at least one assignment, Wonder Woman had been accompanied by a younger girl, equally powerful.

Suddenly, he realized that he'd found just what he was looking for.

He nonchalantly made his way across to the other side of the street.

Drusilla had slowed down her pace just a bit as she entered Embassy Row. There was no sense in overexerting herself. She'd been over this route enough times to know that she could take it easy.

Now once again Dru, she thought, what are you going to say and how are you going to encourage Diana to hang in?

"Good morning," a pleasant voice said.

Startled, Drusilla looked up and saw the smiling face of dark-haired middle aged man.

"Good morning," she bit her tongue.

"Forgive my curiosity, but you wouldn't happen to be who I think you are, are you?"

She let out an embarrassed laugh, "No, I'm not Wonder Woman. I'm the other one you've probably read about. I'm her sister."

"Her sister?" he lifted an eyebrow, "I didn't know she had a sister."

"Oh I can't believe you haven't heard of me at least once," she smiled sheepishly, "I'm Wonder Girl."

"Wonder Girl," he repeated, "That means you're just as powerful as she is?"

"Of course," she shrugged, "I'm just not as smart. She's had a lot more experience than I have."

"Really now," he said, "You mean you haven't had your share of adventures breaking up Nazi operations and all that?"

"I've had a few," Drusilla felt more and more awkward, "But nothing to write home about. My sister is much better. Me, I'm just a....teenager."

"Well I'm sure you'll become just as famous as she is, in due time," he continued to smile, "I take it you're here for the upcoming wedding between your sister and Colonel Trevor?"

"As a matter of fact, I am," she kept her voice polite, "And as much as I like talking to you, I really have to be on my way."

"Well it's been an honor talking to you," he bowed, "Good day, Wonder Girl."

"Bye," she started to walk away.

She never even felt the butt of Bolle's revolver coming down on her head, sending her into the blackness of unconsciousness.

Bolle had slipped his overcoat over Wonder Girl's unconscious form, and after propping her to a standing position, he quietly hailed the first cab he saw.

Telling the driver that his companion was sleeping off a hangover, he had the cab take him directly over the back roads that led to the safe house in the Virginia woods.

A quarter-mile from the house, he had the cab stop. Once it had disappeared, he calmly dragged Wonder Girl the rest of the way.

With confidence, he nonchalantly knocked on the door, holding Wonder Girl in one arm and pointing his gun with the other.

When the door opened, a stunned Sturber was looking directly down the barrel.

"Guten morgen, Sergeant," Bolle said casually, "Nice to see you again."

Sturber's head darted back, "Lieutenant!"

"What is it?" Hauser made his way forward and froze when he saw Bolle.

"Herr Oberst," he tried to find his voice, "You have risked coming back here?"

"I don't think you'll want to kill me now, Lieutenant," Bolle said, "Because I have just delivered you something more important than the atomic bomb."

Hauser leaned past Sturber and frowned at the unconscious body of a young girl under Bolle's other arm, "Who is that?"

"Wonder Woman's sister," he said with relish, "Captured personally by me."

"Is this your idea of a joke, Herr Oberst?" Hauser looked unimpressed.

"Certainly not," Bolle yanked his overcoat off of her, "Look at her. You've heard reports about her sister Wonder Girl, have you?"

Hauser slowly nodded, "We have. But are you sure this is her?"

"That will be easy to determine," he reached down and yanked off her golden belt and lasso from around her waist, "We test these items, and we'll know if she is who she says she is."

Hauser took the items from Bolle and looked them over, "You had better be right Herr Oberst," he didn't look up at him, "Because if this is a joke, you are not going to leave this place alive."

"Fair enough," Bolle stepped inside and closed the door, "I'm willing to take that risk. Because I know I'm right."

It was a few minutes before seven when the sound of the phone ringing awoke Diana three minutes before the alarm clock was supposed to go off.

She came up to a sitting position, yawned and picked it up.

"Yeoman Diana Prince," she said simply.

"Good morning, Wonder Woman," the voice on the other end said.

Diana froze in shock and almost dropped the receiver.

"You must have the wrong number," she kept her voice even.

"I don't think I do, Wonder Woman. I remember your voice quite well."

She sucked in her breath, "Colonel Bolle?"

"Of course," his voice chuckled.

"What do you hope to gain, Colonel?" Diana got out of bed and walked around as she continued to talk, "Since I no longer intend to keep a secret identity, the fact that you know who I am is of little concern to me."

"Aren't you interested in how I found out?" there was a touch of sadistic teasing in his tone.

"I can guess," she sounded unimpressed, "You were at that little gathering of soldiers the night of your bungled murder attempt. You heard Steve mention that I was his secretary, and that's what led you to me."

"Actually Wonder Woman, you're quite wrong. I'd all but forgotten that little admission your dear lover made."

"So go ahead and tell me," she shot back.

"Quite easy," he said nonchalantly, "I used your sister's golden lasso, and ten seconds later she told me exactly where I could call you."

Shock filled Diana at it's greatest extreme. She gripped the phone so hard, she almost crushed it under her strength. His words had left her too thunderstruck to speak.

"Did you hear what I said, Wonder Woman?" Bolle taunted, "I have your dear sister, Drusilla. And lest you think I'm lying, I'll let you talk to her."

There was a shuffling noise and a minute later, she heard Drusilla's level voice, "Diana, they've got me. I'm sorry. Don't do what they say. They'll---"

"Dru," she cried into the phone, "Dru!"

"They're using me so they can get you and Steve!" her voice rose, "Don't do anything they say!"

And then her voice was gone and the sound of more shuffling could be heard.

"Dru!" Diana screamed.

"She's quite all right for now, Wonder Woman," Bolle's silky tone came back on the line, "At least without her belt, lasso and bracelets, she is quite harmless, and therefore not immune to anything we might choose to do to her."

"You evil monster," she spat into the phone.

Bolle laughed, "Control yourself, Wonder Woman. If you wish to see her alive again, you will do exactly what we ask you to do."

"What do you want?"

"Quite simple," he said, "We exchange your sister for you and Colonel Trevor."

"And do you really think I could possibly trust you?" Diana hissed.

"Well at the moment Wonder Woman, I don't think that makes any difference, does it?" there was a pointed edge to the question that made Diana realize she couldn't possibly answer him.

"I will be phoning Colonel Trevor in exactly five minutes, at his residence. In the meantime, I suggest you make your way over there so you can learn our next instructions. And don't even think of getting in touch with your friends at the War Department. If I so much as see a single policeman or soldier, your sister is dead. Have I made myself clear?"

Diana angrily bit her lip in a futile effort to control her rage, "You have."

"Very good," a note of mock geniality entered Bolle's voice, "Auf wiedersehen Wonder Woman."

As the click sounded, Diana stared at the receiver and then hurled the phone across the bedroom with all her strength.

"Damn!" she screamed, "Damn!"

Immediately, Diana had composed herself long enough to get dressed and hail a cab. The promise of a ten dollar bill made the driver drive at dangerously high speeds over the Washington streets. Within five minutes, the cab had dropped her off in front of Steve's Georgetown apartment.

As she frantically went up the steps and entered the building, she was just in time to see a grim-faced Steve hanging up the phone.

"I know," he said, "I'm sorry, Diana. But we'll find a way to get her back."

"How?" Diana could barely conceal her agony as she began pacing about, "What can we do?"

"It doesn't look good," Steve was grave, "They want us to come alone to the old German Embassy. It's been locked tight and empty since the war broke out."

"I don't trust them. They'll kill her no matter what."

"We can't afford to take that kind of risk, Diana."

Diana slowly collected herself, "You're right. We have no other choice. But then what?"

Steve bit his lip, "I wish I knew," he said, "Right now, the only thing I can think of is prayer."

She sighed and came back up to him, squeezing his hand for support, "Say one for me too, Steve.

They embraced each other, trying to find some means of comfort at a time when it was so desperately needed.

"It seems that your sister and Colonel Trevor are going to be most cooperative," Bolle smiled menacingly at Drusilla as he put the phone down, "Just as you have been most cooperative, Wonder Girl."

She moved herself about in visible anger, but the golden lasso appeared to keep her locked in place.

"These bracelets of yours," he picked one up from the table, "Remarkable weapons that would guarantee military superiority for any nation that ever learned their secret. Something that would render America's edge in atomic weapons, null and void."

She glared at him with hate, but didn't say anything.

"And this place where you and your weapons come from," he went on, "Paradise Island. Very remarkable. But now that your lasso has compelled you to reveal its location, as well as what it will take for us to easily obtain this magic mineral feminum, you will have succeeded in shifting the balance of power for World War III."

He came over to Hauser, who was looking very apprehensive, and handed him one of the bracelets, "Keep this for safekeeping and see to it that it gets to one of your contacts in New York. This single bracelet is worth more than everything put together by our friends in New Mexico."

Hauser took the bracelet and idly ran his fingers over it, "Hard to believe that this type of compound holds the key to conventional supremacy."

"Also hard to believe that we came so close to acquiring it three years ago," Bolle added, "What did you think of her little story about how one of our operatives, Captain Gerhard Radl had learned the same secret and had Berlin authorize a commando raid on this Paradise Island?"

"I remember that," Hauser admitted, "When Radl was captured and had no memory of what had gone on, Berlin wrote his earlier story off to insanity. But according to Wonder Girl, they had things on that island that wiped out his memory of Paradise Island and the raid."

"Now we know better," Bolle said, "Too late to help the Reich, but not too late for Moscow."

"Launching a commando operation on this Paradise Island will be even more difficult than it was for Berlin," Hauser pointed out, "As much as Moscow is interested in acquiring important advantages over the Americans, an operation of that kind in waters so close to their own shores is something they'll be most reluctant to undertake. If it were to go wrong, we'd have a diplomatic crisis on our hands that could cause too serious a rupture in U.S.-Soviet relations. I need not remind you Herr Oberst, that winning this new competition requires that relations not deteriorate at this point."

"Of course," the ex-SS officer nodded, "But if not now, then the information will surely be valuable for a more suitable time in the future."

Hauser glanced back at Wonder Girl and quietly motioned Bolle to step into the next room.

"You realize Herr Oberst," he said quietly, "that if we had to keep this information under wraps for the time being, then it is impossible to even think of releasing Wonder Girl."

"Of course," Bolle said without batting an eye, "Does that really matter?"

Hauser smiled thinly, "I suppose not."

Two hours later, Steve and Wonder Woman were standing inside the compound of the abandoned German Embassy. Unused for three and a half years since the outbreak of the war and expulsion of all German diplomats, the elegant building had fallen into a serious state of disrepair. Piles of old litter lay all around the compound, while angry anti-Nazi graffiti that had been painted by citizens who'd broken in and found ways of expressing their patriotism, dotted the walls.

Too uneasy to speak, they kept their vigil of agonizing wait in tortured silence.

And then, they heard the sound of movement from behind the corridor that led out into the main compound.

Out stepped Bolle, a taunting grin on his face from ear-to-ear.

"How nice to see you two again," his voice oozed with charm.

"Colonel," Trevor coldly acknowledged.

"Incidentally, my congratulations on your pending nuptials. It pleases me to know that little scene in front of the men at Trinity base didn't mark the end of your happy relationship."

"Where's my sister?" Wonder Woman angrily demanded.

Bolle snapped his fingers and Sergeant Becker emerged, holding Wonder Girl's unconscious form, tied up in her own golden lasso.

"She's quite unharmed," Bolle said, "The chloroform will wear off shortly, and she will be able to go. In the meantime, Wonder Woman, you would be advised to hand over your bracelets, belt and lasso."

Diana stared at him with eyes like daggers.

Bolle pointed his gun at her, "I wouldn't want to change my mind Wonder Woman. Hand over those things now."

Slowly, she reached for the bracelet on her left wrist.

Suddenly Drusilla, who'd been hanging limp in Becker's grasp, bolted up and delivered a blow to the heavyset sergeant's head.

"What the---?" Bolle blurted in shock.

As Wonder Girl dashed away from him, Wonder Woman ran toward him holding her wrists up so she could shield her sister. At the same time, Steve raced in to join the fray, concentrating on Becker who was still staggering.

Bolle fired wildly, but Wonder Woman was able to deflect the bullets. She then grabbed him by the wrist and threw him over her shoulder.

Steve delivered two blows to Becker that sent him back again, and the sergeant then countered with two shots to Trevor's jaw. But then Wonder Girl came back into the fray and after grabbing his wrist, sent Becker crashing into the brick wall of the compound, where he fell to the ground unconscious.

Bolle scrambled to his feet and began running toward the main gate. But then, he felt the sting of Wonder Woman's lasso fly around him, and he was jerked backward.

Slowly, with intense hatred, Wonder Woman pulled him back toward her until he was only inches away. At the same time, Wonder Girl helped Steve to his feet and they came alongside her.

"Let's have the truth," Wonder Woman said coldly, "Where is your headquarters?"

"I won't tell--" he started, and then he felt the strange power of the lasso, acting like a drug, forcing the truth out of him, "It's, it's a small house in the woods ten miles off the main road to Fort Myer."

"Thank you very much," Trevor's voice dripped with venom as he suddenly delivered a sock to the jaw that flattened the ex-SS colonel into unconsciousness.

Diana turned to Drusilla and embraced her with relief, "Oh thank God, Drusilla."

"It's all right," she grinned, "I had them fooled good."

"How did you do that?" Steve asked as he joined in the happy circle of embrace.

"It was easy," Wonder Girl kept grinning, "The fifth rule of exercise and self-discipline that we learned on Paradise Island."

Diana smiled as she remembered, "The ability to control breathing through the mouth. When they put the chloroform over you, you were able to block it out and fake unconsciousness."

"And gathered all of my strength for a sudden break. The lasso might compel us to tell the truth like everyone else, but it doesn't leave us immobile. To wrap it around an Amazon eventually restores our strength."

"Drusilla, you are terrific," Steve grinned and then shot a glance at the two unconscious bodies lying on the ground, "Well we know one thing now. Bolle's benefactors are the survivors of the Iron Brigade. That man over there is Sergeant Karl Becker, one of the three missing members."

"I suggest we keep our appointment with the other two," the lightheartedness disappeared from Diana's voice.

Steve nodded, "Drusilla?"

She nodded, "It will be my pleasure."

A half-hour later, Hauser heard the front door knock and he calmly made his way up to it with his pistol brandished.

"Yes?"

"We have them," he heard Bolle's voice, "The mission is a success."

"Good," he sighed and started to open the door, "I've been worried about---"

But when the door opened, Hauser found himself staring into Wonder Woman's determined visage.

"You!" he blurted and fired madly. But the bullets deflected off her wrist bracelets.

"Sturber!" he cried, and the thin sergeant entered assist him.

Steve burst into the room right behind Wonder Woman and the scuffle broke out in full force.

Hauser picked up a chair and tried to bring it down on the Amazon. She timed it perfectly, and sent him flying back into the next room, crashing against the dining table.

Sturber yanked out a knife from his pocket and held it out at Trevor. For well over thirty seconds he kept it pointed at him.

And then he finally lunged forward. Steve jumped to the side and the knife grazed his right side. At the same time, he landed a karate blow to the neck that finally knocked him down and out.

In the next room, Hauser got to his feet and scrambled for the back door. But when he opened it he saw Wonder Girl, hands on hips, smiling disarmingly at him.

"Going somewhere Lieutenant?" her voice was coy.

As the scuffle continued inside the cabin, Bolle dimly felt the effects of Trevor's blow wear off.

He shook himself and focused his eyes on the cabin, where the results of the scuffle were all too obvious.

He slowly sucked in his breath. The fools had removed the lasso from him and he was free to move. Free to get out of here. It mattered not to him that he had no plan for where to go next. All that mattered was getting away fast.

He quietly opened the door and slipped off into the bushes.

"We've got 'em all," Steve beamed with delight as he and the two Amazons surveyed the scene, "The Iron Brigade is finished."

"We'd better let them join Bolle and Becker in the car," Diana said.

But as the three of them dragged the two unconscious men out to the car, they found themselves in for a rude shock.

"Bolle's gone!" Drusilla blurted.

Steve felt his heart sink with agony as he rushed up to the car. The unconscious Becker was still there, but there was no trace of the ex-SS colonel.

"He must have come to," Trevor angrily clenched his fist, "No telling how far he's been able to go."

"It can't be far," Wonder Woman spoke up with determination, "I'll get him."

"I'll go with you," her sister eagerly jumped in.

Diana turned around and slowly shook her head, "No Dru. You and Steve need to watch the others until the authorities arrive. This is something I need to handle myself."

She looked over at Steve. He grimly nodded his head in understanding and approval.

And then, Wonder Woman turned and dashed off into the Virginia woods.

Bolle had ventured nearly five hundred yards into the bush. But in the midst of his terror-filled desire to escape he found that he had totally lost his bearings. He had no way of knowing which direction the main road was.

Slowly, he stopped to collect himself. He had to reassure himself that it was his destiny to escape. That somehow, somewhere his plan of fulfilling his last duty as a Nazi would come to pass.

Behind him, he heard the sound of tree branches breaking. Someone was coming up behind him and fast.

The terror suddenly increased as he forced himself to move on again.

In the distance, Wonder Woman had spotted him. Inside she felt a large measure of satisfaction. At last, the evil man who had caused so much trouble and suffering for herself and for Steve would be caught, and there would be no more avenues for escape left.

She saw Bolle look back at her. For the first time, the ex-SS colonel seemed frightened of her.

She saw him come to a large overturned tree trunk that extended five feet in the air. Bolle was forced to stop and hurriedly climb over it. A maneuver that took almost fifteen seconds.

He had barely gotten moving again when he looked back and saw Wonder Woman leap over the trunk with one swift, graceful motion.

The moment had come. Wonder Woman was now close enough to use her lasso on him. Now it would be over.

The golden rope lashed itself around him and Bolle's forward momentum came to a stop.

Slowly, Diana pulled him back to her.

For what seemed like an eternity, Diana stared into his terrified visage. Feeling nothing but pleasure over the fact that this evil man was now afraid.

"All right Colonel," she said gently, "It's all over."

Bolle sagged his shoulders in defeat.

"Yes," he whispered, "It's over. You have won."

"Let's go," she turned around and began pulling him.

But then, the gentle quiet of the woods was suddenly shattered by the loud piercing crack of a rifle shot.

A startled Diana looked back just in time to see blood gushing from a gaping wound in Bolle's head. The ex-SS colonel's mouth was twisted open. But no sound came out as he then collapsed to the ground in a motionless heap.

Wonder Woman looked about trying to pinpoint the location of the shot. But it was no use. There was no one there.

Two hundred yards away at the edge of the clearing between the main road and the woods, the raincoated Soviet assassin turned around and dashed back to his waiting car. He hurled his rifle in the backseat and motioned the driver to get started. In an instant, the car roared off at better than fifty miles an hour.

The assassin let out a sigh of relief, "It's done," he said, "Bolle's finished. The cancer is removed."

"He was the one to fear," the driver nodded, "But what of the other men? Will they talk?"

"No," the assassin shook his head, "The rest of the Iron Brigade are loyal to the cause. They all know what they are supposed to do in this event, and they will never reveal the extent of their connection with us."

"But they have files," the driver pointed out, "Files that would expose the full extent of our operations in this country. Fuchs, Gold, Greenglass and Rosenberg could all be in danger."

The man looked at him and smiled in a disarming manner.

"That problem has also been dealt with," he said, "We have someone who'll know what to do about those files."

Diana seemed dazed as she made her way back to where Steve and Drusilla continued to stand guard over the three unconscious members of the Iron Brigade.

"What happened?" Steve asked with concern.

She slowly exhaled in disbelief, "He's dead."

"What?" his face contorted in amazement.

"Someone shot him," she went on, "I didn't see who. But he's dead."

"Why?" Drusilla was stunned by the revelation.

"I don't know."

Trevor leaned back against the car and slowly shook his head in amazement, "Not the way I would have preferred it, but it probably served the bastard right."

An hour later, a military guard from Fort Myer was hauling Hauser, Becker and Sturber off into an armored truck, the three of them in shackles. Inside the house, General Blankenship was surveying the scene with Trevor, Wonder Woman and Wonder Girl.

"That's the end of what's left of the Iron Brigade," Steve said, "And there are some pretty interesting things in here that ties their operation into a Russian spy network all over the country."

"Incredible," Blankenship shook his head, "How big is it?"

"We'll need time to go through the data," Wonder Woman pointed to a filing cabinet of material, "But it could be that we'll find out who their contacts are from inside the Manhattan Project. Someone from inside there has to have been passing off information to them."

"Why bother?" Wonder Girl spoke up, "Just put a lasso around them and you'll find out everything you need to know."

Steve chuckled lightly, "Diana, maybe you should explain."

"We can't do that Dru," she said gently, "It's one thing to do that during a moment of combat or pursuit, but it can't be done in an interrogation. There are laws in this country that forbid that. And even if there weren’t, we can’t let any government, even the Americans, make use of any of our powers."

"That sounds silly," her sister responded.

"We can't make something like that available for the same reason that we can never make the powers of our bracelets available either," Diana said, "And those in America understand that. The Nazis and the Russians don't, and want to use them for evil purposes."

"We understand, Wonder Woman," Blankenship was sympathetic, "We'll use what we can to get them to talk. But hopefully the files will tell us everything else we need to know."

"I hope so," Steve said with a touch of disdain, "Because if those files tell us what I think they will, the Russians are going to have to change their tune about a lot of things going on at Potsdam."

"All in good time," Blankenship said, "In the meantime, the three of you have been through too much for one day. You spend it amongst yourselves."

"We will," Diana smiled, "Thank you sir."

As the general moved off, Diana looked at her sister and frowned slightly, "It just occurred to me Dru, that you never explained why you were up here in Washington in the first place."

Wonder Girl rolled her eyes, "Oh that. That's going to require a lot of explaining."

"Well let's talk about it at my place over some lunch," Steve got between them and led them out.

Later, as they enjoyed a light lunch of sandwiches and drinks, both Steve and Diana listened intently as Drusilla related Hippolyte's angry reaction to the news of the upcoming wedding.

"It's a flat ultimatum from her," she said, "I don't know exactly what she's threatening to do punish you with. I guess maybe she hasn't summoned the nerve to say specifically what it would be, but I can tell you that she's determined to carry it out. She feels that strongly about it."

Diana bit her lip and calmly exhaled, "I love Mother very dearly, but she has no right to demand that of me. If I choose to marry Steve, then that is a decision for me alone."

"And so I'm to tell her that your decision is final?"

She looked her sister in the eye, "Yes," she squeezed Steve's hand, "I love this man more than anything in the world, and if that doesn't impress Mother, then so be it."

Drusilla smiled, "Diana, I am in the awkward position of agreeing completely with you, but with no idea as to how I explain that to Mother."

"You won't have to," she said firmly, "I'm going to do it myself. I'm going to tell her everything, and she can then do whatever she pleases. It won’t make any difference."

She then looked up at Steve, who was still squeezing her hand, "And Steve, I want you to come with me."

He lifted an eyebrow in surprise, "Do you think I can help?"

"You can," her tone was firm, "It's time my mother met a man who can make her see that things are different in the world now. That women and men can live together in love."

Steve slowly exhaled, "Well I guess tradition dictates that you should always meet your future mother-in-law, but..."

Diana gave him a wry smile, "That's what I love about you Steve, your unique way of putting things in perspective."

"But is it to be the marriage first and then the visit, or the other way around?"

"Good question," she admitted, "I have a feeling though that the latter option would be better. I don't want to be disrespectful of her. She is my mother, and I love her."

"Then I guess we shouldn't waste any time," he sighed, "Drusilla, you have your plane ready?"

"Sure," Drusilla nodded, "And Diana, I don't care what you say, I'm flying."

Diana smiled at her sister, "Consider it a battlefield decoration for your work today."

"Give me just a minute to tell General Blankenship I'll be away for a couple of days," Steve said and disappeared into the next room.

"Dru," Diana said, "I'm curious to know if you've ever given any thought to staying here as well."

Her eyes widened, "Stay permanently?"

"Yes."

She gulped down the rest of her coke and slowly shook her head, "I love coming here Diana, but I don't think I'm ready for that yet. What would I do?"

"You'd learn a lot about the world," Diana said, "Maybe find someone for yourself as wonderful as Steve. And you'd still be here to help me as Wonder Girl."

She sucked in her breath and kept shaking her head, "Diana, right now I have to face the obvious fact that I am too young and naive to be ready for living here full-time. Maybe later on, when I'm older and wiser, but not now. And there's another factor to consider as well. It's going to be difficult enough on Mother for her eldest daughter to be leaving her. The prospect of losing both of them might be too much for her."

Her sister nodded, "I think you're right," she said, "But do keep trying to come here as often as you can."

"I will," Drusilla nodded, "You can be sure of that."

"I'll only need about two days," Steve said as he talked to Blankenship over the phone.

"That'll be no problem," the general said, "We can handle things in the meantime."

"Gotten anything out of our prisoners?"

"Not a thing. They've all clammed up but good, and they all emphatically deny that they're working for the Russians. They figure that by claiming to still be renegade Nazis, they can get away with the argument that they are prisoners of war who should be repatriated under the terms of the Geneva Convention."

"Fat chance of that happening. In fact, hiding behind their Nazi past actually makes them subject to the death penalty for espionage during wartime." Steve snorted, "Learned anything from those impounded files?"

"At the moment, they're out of our hands," Blankenship said, "The boys over at the State Department want to go through them first, because they want to be able to address the diplomatic questions while the Potsdam summit is still going on."

"It's political dynamite, that's for sure," Trevor nodded, "I hope we make good use of them."

"I know we will."

In another dark corner of Washington, the raincoated assassin lit his tenth cigarette in the last hour as he nervously dialed his phone. It was taking much longer than he'd hoped to get in touch with the man he needed to talk to.

"Yes?" an aristocratic sounding American voice said.

"Is it all set?" the man blurted.

The voice chuckled, "Yes, I've personally seen to it that the papers end up in State Department jurisdiction. With Secretary Byrnes and all the others out of the country, they have to come to my desk first."

"This is most urgent," the man's voice trembled, "The moment someone analyzes those papers, it’s the end of our entire apparatus in America. Those papers will definitely expose our contacts in the Manhattan Project. And you yourself might be in danger."

"I doubt that I am in danger," the aristocratic voice continued, "I have not exactly been an active operative for some time, but I of course have no intention of taking that kind of chance."

"Let me know when you have them."

"I will," the voice said simply. There was a click and the line went dead.

Chapter Fourteen: July 19, 1945

As Wonder Girl flew the invisible plane over the Atlantic towards Paradise Island, Steve found himself clutching the sides of his chair, staring down in fascination.

"This thing glides like a dream," he said to Diana, "It's even smoother than any of those experimental jet planes I've flown."

"I'm glad you're impressed," she squeezed his hand, "Although as I've told you, it's not the first time for you. I flew you back to Washington in this thing after you'd crashed on Paradise Island."

"I know, but I was half out of it then. I'd thought I'd died and gone to Heaven," he smiled at her, "Come to think of it, the thought of us finally getting married makes me wonder if I've gone now."

"We're almost there," Drusilla called back to them, "We should be landing in about five minutes."

He looked down, "I still don't see anything."

"It's impossible to see from the air, or from any ship that might pass by. I told you why."

"So you did. Something to do with light refraction."

"That's the scientific explanation," Diana smiled, "We like to think of it as Aphrodite's way of sheltering us from the hostility of man's world."

"You might be right in a sense," he mused, "Maybe God has kept you sheltered and safe for a reason."

"It’s possible," she said, "Maybe ultimately, Aphrodite has become a conduit of sorts between the Deity higher than her and ourselves."

"Could be," Steve looked down as he felt the invisible plane begin to descend into a landing formation, "I just hope we catch your mother in a good mood."

"Your daughters have returned, my queen," Magda said as she entered Hippolyte's chambers.

The Amazon Queen looked up in startled surprise, "Both of them?"

"Both the Princess Diana and the Princess Drusilla. They are outside, and wish to see you. Although--"

"Let me see them," her voice burst with joy, "Have them enter."

With an expression of slight unease, Magda motioned and Diana and Drusilla both entered.

"Diana," her mother came up to her with outstretched arms, "My daughter I knew in my heart that you would return."

Diana embraced her tenderly but her expression was restrained, "It's so good to see you again Mother."

"I knew Drusilla would make you understand that your place is here."

She let go of Hippolyte and phrased her words very carefully, "I haven't changed my mind, Mother. I'm only here so I can try to make you understand."

Her mother's euphoria faded, "What do you mean?"

Diana looked back and motioned her head. Immediately, a grim-faced Steve entered the room, his arms folded.

"Your Majesty," he bowed slightly, "It's an honor to finally meet you."

Hippolyte's mouth hung open in shock at the sight of a man in her own chambers. It took her almost a moment to partially regain her composure.

"Colonel Trevor?" her voice was a bare whisper.

"Yes," he nodded.

Hippolyte bit her lip and leaned over to Diana, "Why is he here?"

"He's here to help me make you understand," Diana's voice was determined.

"Understand what?" the Amazon Queen suddenly snapped, "Understand that you plan to turn your back on the things I've taught you, the values I've instilled in you, the glory of the throne that will one day be yours? And for what?"

"I happen to love your daughter, Your Majesty," Steve's tone was patient.

"What do you and your race know of love, Colonel?" she stepped toward him, "For 2500 years the wars and the barbarism of your male-dominated world have continued. You continue to deny women their rights and their place of importance...."

"Your Majesty," he interrupted, his voice still patient, "I want to talk to you on reasonable terms, but don't insult my intelligence. You know perfectly well that Diana has been fighting this war for us so there can be better opportunities of freedom for all people, men and women."

"And it's also irrelevant to the issue at hand," Diana's tone rose, "I only ask for your blessing, and that you respect my decision, Mother. But irregardless of what you say, Steve and I are going to be married."

Again, Hippolyte bit her lip in an effort to choke back the rage she felt and she turned to Drusilla for help, "What have you got to say?"

Arms folded, Drusilla's expression was taut, "I happen to think Diana's right, Mother. You have no right to force her to be unhappy."

"Unhappy?" her eyes bulged, "Life on Paradise Island, unhappy? Have all these centuries meant nothing to you?"

"They mean more to me than I'll ever be able to express," Diana held her ground, "I intend to always live my life according to the knowledge and wisdom of everything I have learned here, and from you. But it is time that I be able to share some of that wisdom with the people in the outside world, and more importantly with the man I love."

"Diana only wants to continue doing the things she's done for America as Wonder Woman," Steve stepped forward, "You may not realize this Your Majesty, but the defeat of the Nazis doesn't mean an end to the threats against freedom and peace in the world."

"America now faces an enemy that is potentially just as ruthless as the Nazis were," Diana added, "The Soviet Union is led by cunning brutes who wouldn't think twice about adopting Nazi methods of brutality in an effort to extend their power, now that the war of mutual alliance is over. I have seen that ruthlessness, and I intend to do what I can to stop it. If America does not remain strong, then we could see Russian invaders on our shores as surely as we saw Nazi invaders three years ago."

Hippolyte continued to glare at her, but she seemed to sense that Diana was not going to give in.

"This represents disobedience to Aphrodite at the highest," she said calmly, "A violation of all that is written in our sacred history. For you to submit to a man, represents the very sin I committed when I was deceived by Hercules and Ares and caused our enslavement."

"How do you know that?" Diana retorted, "Aphrodite is the goddess of love, or have you forgotten that fact? Why should I or any other Amazon be denied that gift? The prohibition against men was your edict, not that of the goddess!"

"She’s right, Mother!" Drusilla jumped in.

Their mother stared at them with a tight-lipped expression.

"Be gone from my sight," she hissed, "You are not the one I loved and cherished as my daughter. You are a stranger, corrupted totally by the evil of living in Man's world. Leave my sight, and leave Paradise Island forever."

Diana stared back at her mother with an expression that was equally unyielding.

"If that is your wish Mother," she said, "Then I shall respect it."

She turned away from her and began to walk over to Steve.

"Hold it," Hippolyte called, "Before you leave, you will surrender your golden belt. Your powers were a gift from the divine goddess, and you have forfeited your right to them."

Diana stopped and turned back to her.

"No Mother," she said coldly, "You can not take my powers away. I need them to aid America and the cause of freedom and justice. To strip me of them in the name of enforcing an ancient commandment would be an even greater violation against the values that are so dear to us."

"There is nothing more sacred than loyalty to Aphrodite," she fired back, "You are not worthy of the powers."

"Am I?" Diana looked her in the eye, "Why don’t we go the altar and ask the goddess herself? The way I see it, I’m as loyal to her as I ever have been."

"Yet you are prepared to marry one who does not even believe in the goddess!" she shot back.

"The goddess is irrelevant to his life," Diana said, "His religion, and his God is the reality of his people. And I honor and respect it and would not for one moment think of forcing him to abandon that which has meaning and purpose for his life."

"I respect that line of thinking," Hippolyte conceded, "But in your case—"

"No more, Mother," Diana interrupted. "I demand the right to approach the goddess herself at the sacred altar you built and we shall hear firsthand from her, if she indeed exists and is in control of Amazon destiny."

Hippolyte seemed stunned by the bold show of defiance, while Drusilla knew right away that her sister had played the best possible card that would enable her to win out for now.

"So be it," the Amazon Queen said solemnly, "We shall call upon the goddess and hear her word."

Twenty minutes later, Diana and Hippolyte were both mounting the steps that led to a classical Greek temple. A somewhat bewildered Trevor remained at the bottom with Drusilla.

"Have you actually....spoken to Aphrodite before?" he could think of nothing else to ask.

"I haven’t," Drusilla said, "I don’t think Mother has for 2000 years. Not since she received her blessing to take in the Elders who escaped from Rome."

They saw Diana and Hippolyte reach the top and enter the temple. They both knelt and bowed their heads before an elaborately carved statue and with their arms outstretched, began to intone a series of prayers.

Five minutes passed, and Steve felt his sense of inner tension rise when he saw what looked like a giant cloud fill the interior of the temple. Slowly, the fog seemed to come together in one giant shape, and then grew brighter until...to his amazement it took human form. The form of the most indescribably beautiful woman he had ever seen before. The very embodiment of perfect feminine beauty.

Steve’s mouth hung open in disbelief so much that he didn’t even hear any of the conversation that took place between the woman and the two Amazons. It was only when Diana rose from her kneeling position and turned around to look down at him, that he finally could hear her saying, "Could you please come here, Steve?"

An awed Drusilla had to give him a gentle nudge before he managed to mount the steps to the top. He could see the woman who was clearly Aphrodite sitting across from him, as large as life. Dressed in an elegant Grecian gown that left her right shoulder bare. The image of all that the artists and sculptors had envisioned of her, but not even the works of an artist like Botticelli had come close to capturing the perfection of Aphrodite’s beauty.

"Welcome Colonel Trevor," she smiled at him. Her voice was indescribably rich and melodic. "It is an honor to meet for the first time, one such as you. Especially one who is so close to the One above even me."

Trevor shook himself out of his stupor, but still found himself incapable of saying anything.

"2000 years ago, we whom the ancients of Greece and then Rome worshiped, realized that our time was past, and that if any of us were to enjoy the continued privilege of our existence on Olympus, we would have to make ourselves subservient to the true Powers that control the universe. To abandon at long last the ways of avarice, greed and deceit that left us so fractured and incapable of ever providing that which can only come from the True One."

Steve felt a question forming in his throat, but found the words totally stuck.

The goddess of love stepped toward him, still smiling. "I sense what your question is, Colonel Trevor. I shall explain in a way that your mind can best understand. We, the gods of Olympus are beings blessed with powers greater than any mortal who inhabits this Earth could ever hope to possess. As to where we originated, that is not for you to know. By Earthly standards, we are immortal and that is why we chose to inhabit this planet because we saw that we could make ourselves gods and receive worship and love from the ancients of Greece. But as you know from your basic mythology, we lacked the things that a true god must have and provide. We lacked perfection. The ability to rise above simple flaws of behavior. We also lacked the ability to provide true salvation in the life beyond. Those are gifts that can only come from the One who made the entire universe and whom the Hebrews were blessed to know first. The God you worship, Colonel Trevor. The God of what is known in your world as Judeo-Christian civilization."

For the first time, Steve summoned the nerve to ask a question, "Yet...you still exist. You are still immortal."

"Only within a very narrow sphere," Aphrodite said gently. "When those of us in Olympus saw our power over the Earth diminishing, especially after the True One sent His Son to Earth to fulfill His mission for humanity, we realized our error and humbled ourselves to Him in forgiveness. For our subservience, and our promise to never again interfere with the affairs of humankind, we agreed to withdraw from the world forever. It is our most sacred commandment."

"And....the Amazons?"

"A different matter. I created the Amazons myself from clay and gave them life. They are my creation, and hence the True One recognizes that as they are not created by Him or descended from the Father and Mother of humanity, I am therefore granted the right of receiving worship from them." Her gaze then shifted to Hippolyte. "You have honored me for these many centuries, Hippolyte. Your obedience has served you and your daughters of Paradise Island well. Recognize then, that what I now command of you is a commandment not borne out of any anger or desire to punish you."

The Amazon queen seemingly stiffened as she realized for the first time what the goddess was about to say.

"You have neither the right to deny your daughter of the joy and happiness she can receive as the wife of Colonel Trevor, nor to deny her of her powers as an Amazon immortal. Such judgment can only come from me. It was reckless of you to engage in such harsh edicts without consulting me. Remember that again should the occasion be warranted at some future date."

Hippolyte abruptly dropped to her knees in total reverence, "I hear, and I obey, O Goddess."

Aphrodite then turned her attention to Diana. "I have heard your prayer, Diana. You ask for the privilege of retaining your powers even in marriage to a mortal. This is not a request I could grant instinctively as it raises the complication of how your relationship with a mortal impacts the life of one whose ultimate devotion must be to the true Creator. As it must also inevitably impact the matter of how offspring of an Amazonian and a mortal must be raised. It required considerable prayer and contemplation on my part before He Who is above me. But by His grace and His mercy which makes Him a just God, He has answered my request and granted to me an answer for me to give to you." She paused. "You are granted the right to marry the man you love. And you are granted the right to retain your powers as a force for good in the mortal world, with the stipulation that you now forfeit your claim to total immortality. You will age at a rate of one year for every ten mortal years, as opposed to the one in one hundred you currently enjoy. And there is also this." Her tone now grew grave. "You forfeit all right to your powers if it is ever deemed by me at any time that they are not being utilized for the good of human civilization. That includes idle use no less than evil use. To be part of the mortal world requires constant activity on your part, Diana."

Diana remained prostate before Aphrodite on her knees. "I hear and I obey, mighty Goddess."

"Your children will be raised to understand the justness of our teachings. But ultimately, they as children of Colonel Trevor must embrace the true God for eternal salvation."

"I honor the true God, and will do so."

The Goddess of Love leaned back in her throne. "My will is made known," her tone grew final. "And so shall it be done."

And then, the swirling clouds consumed her figure. Seconds later, they had dissipated and she was gone.

The sun's last rays had disappeared below the horizon of the sea. Alone, Steve and Diana began to walk hand-in-hand down the beach.

"How do you feel?" Diana asked gently.

"Somewhat drained," Steve admitted, "After seeing and hearing what I saw. A figure out of mythology come to life, who in the same breath confirms the reality of my own doctrines. It’s..." he shook his head.

"Were you really afraid that the reality of Aphrodite and the Olympians would mean a lack of reality in your own God?" Diana asked with concern.

"It...crossed my mind."

"It shouldn’t have," Diana said. "It was exactly as you and I figured. The Olympians have control only over those that they were directly responsible for."

"I know, I had reasoned that before, but...I wasn’t dealing with the reality of Aphrodite or the Olympians as actual beings, I—" he stopped and shook his head. "There’s so much that the human mind has never grasped and will probably never be able to fully grasp."

"But you’ve seen how your concern was groundless. The Olympians exist, but not from the standpoint of expecting worship from humanity any longer. They learned to repent of the ways that drove them into that sin."

"And now, they do the bidding of the One Who is above them."

"Of course. That’s why when I worship Aphrodite as my creator, I am still ultimately worshiping even your God, since she now states that she is under His authority."

"It does reassure me a great deal," Steve conceded and then decided to change the subject, "I’m glad that your Mother is....well that is, I’m glad it’s right between us now."

"She has always honored and respected you." She paused. "And after today, I know there’ll never be any complications again. Not even when it’s time for Drusilla to come to the same decisions I’ve had to make."

They stopped and looked at the brilliant star-lit night sky.

"It looks so peaceful," Diana sighed, "Just looking at it makes it hard to believe that over the horizon, the madness still goes on."

"And we have to keep the madness from getting out of hand," Steve said, "We never want to see the horror of what we both saw at Trinity be repeated again."

"Yes," she nodded, "Somehow, I think the God who controls the larger forces of history will ultimately see to that. That the fears of those like Dr. Oppenheimer won’t matter in the end."

The sun disappeared beneath the horizon and they headed back to the Palace.

Chapter Fifteen: July 22, 1945

Three days later, Colonel Trevor and Yeoman Prince both entered General Blankenship's office just in time to see the director of military intelligence speaking on the phone, and in a very foul mood.

"What do you mean it's been lost?" Blankenship angrily demanded.

Steve and Diana both exchanged puzzled glances.

"You've got to come up with a better explanation then that!" the general raged, "If you don't give me an answer soon, you can be damn sure that I'll be speaking to Secretary Byrnes personally about it!"

And with that, Blankenship slammed the phone down as hard as he could.

"What's wrong, sir?" Diana inquired.

The general looked up at them, his voice seething, "Every one of those files from the Iron Brigade's operation, have somehow been lost by the State Department."

"Lost?" Steve was bewildered, "How?"

"That's just it, they don't know. But they're all gone."

"That's incredible," Diana shook her head in disbelief, "Those files contained everything we needed to know about Russian spy operations."

"All down the tubes," Blankenship threw up his arms, "And with it, goes any chance of trying to get some extra leverage on them at Potsdam."

Steve was incredulous, "It's not like the State Department to lose something that confidential. Who'd you talk to about it?"

"Most of the top men are out of the country at Potsdam. I had to talk to the assistant secretary for political affairs. You've met him before. Alger Hiss."

Steve nodded, "I think so. He used to be a law clerk for Justice Holmes, didn't he?"

"Yes. He's a bright man, and one of the Department's rising stars. Which makes it hard for me to believe that something like this could happen."

"Maybe it's just a bureaucratic mix-up and they'll turn up later," Diana ventured.

"I hope so," Steve said, "Since it's quite obvious that the Brigade survivors will never talk, those papers are the only things we can use against the Russians."

"Nothing else you can do in the meantime except get back to work," Blankenship sighed.

"Yes sir," he said.

"By the way," the general casually inquired, "Is your wedding date now set?"

"Next Thursday at the Cathedral," Diana smiled, "You'll be getting your engraved invitation soon."

"I can hardly wait."

"Well how do you think we feel, General?" Steve slyly responded as they left.

Alone, Blankenship smiled and realized that he felt much better since they'd come in.

Later, Steve was back in his own Pentagon office going over Pacific Theater intelligence reports, when Diana entered.

"Message from General Groves at Trinity," she handed him a folder, "All scientific studies of Fat Man test confirm it to be a total success."

"That's good," Steve started to go through it, "Then there's no doubt about postponing Operation Olympic forever."

"He also reports that the Target Committee has made its decision as well," she tossed another file on the desk.

Steve stiffened slightly and he gingerly opened it.

"Hmmm," he grunted, "Hiroshima and Nagasaki."

Diana bit her lip, "Those are fairly large population centers."

"Yeah," there was no mistaking the sadness and regret he felt, as he closed the file, "It's a tragedy that it has to come to this. But if we had to invade, the civilian casualties would probably be even three times as much."

"I know," she nodded, "I guess that's the nature of how one has to fight against greater evils."

"Hopefully this will bring World War II to its long overdue end," he looked up at her and deliberately changed the subject, "Any word from the State Department on those missing files?"

"None," she shook her head.

He pursed his lips in disgust, "I think I'd better talk to them myself. Diana, get me Alger Hiss on the phone."

"Certainly," she went over and began to dial. "Hello. Colonel Trevor at the War Department to speak to Mr. Hiss."

After a brief pause, she handed the phone to Steve.

"Hello Colonel," a silky aristocratic voice came on the line, "This is an honor to talk to you. And may I offer you my congratulations on your engagement to Wonder Woman. You are a lucky man."

"Never mind that, Mr. Hiss," Steve's tone was all business, "I want to know if you have anything on those missing files we turned over to your department."

"Oh yes," Hiss said smoothly, "General Blankenship was very upset about that. Believe me Colonel, we're looking into that. However, you must understand that at the moment, there are higher priorities for the State Department to be dealing with."

"I'm aware of that," Steve tried to stay patient, "But these files deal with important matters of espionage against us by a country that is supposed to be our ally."

Hiss suddenly laughed, "Oh Colonel, come now. Have you been listening to all that demagoguery from Senator Taft and all those other fine Republicans who would have preferred that Hitler gobble up all of Russia?"

"Don't get funny with me, Mr. Hiss," Trevor snapped, "You get those files back now."

"We'll do our best Major," he said, "I should inform you though, that we've run up against this kind of problem before. Our bureaucracy is unfortunately a little too cumbersome, and sometimes things get lost in the shuffle."

"Then maybe it's time there were some changes at the State Department," his voice grew cold, "Good day Mr. Hiss."

"Good day Colonel."

On the other end of the line, the Assistant Secretary of State for Political Affairs smiled wryly as he hung up the phone.

He picked up his brief case and fingered the thick sheaf of files that had been stuffed inside it. One last time, he went over them, just to be sure that they were all there.

And then, he closed it and calmly made his way out of the office, down the long corridors of the Executive Office Building, and out the main entrance.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Hiss," a uniformed security guard smiled at him as he left.

Alger Hiss, respected lawyer and trusted adviser to the last two Secretaries of State, and a Soviet operative since the mid-1930s, politely waved back in acknowledgment. He then nonchalantly walked down the street, and the guard went back to his routine business.

Not until 1948, when a former Soviet operative named Whittaker Chambers testified before the House Un-American Activities Committee, would the truth about Alger Hiss become known.

One week later, the attention of Washington shifted from the Potsdam summit, the stunning defeat of Winston Churchill in the British elections, the ongoing Pacific War news, and focused on what was being described as the Wedding of the Decade.

Reporters and newsreel cameras held a vigil outside the National Cathedral as the private ceremony got underway. They saw the brief guest list of fifteen show up first. They were mostly low-level personnel from the War Department, but when the staff car of the Army Chief of Staff General George Marshall arrived, the frenzied enthusiasm of the onlookers increased.

Somehow, the cars bearing the most important people were able to avoid the throng by parking on the other side of the Cathedral, and having the occupants slip through a back entrance.

With that, the ceremony no one else on the outside could see, got underway.

The small crowd of fifteen guests saw Corporal Etta Candy, smartly attired in her WAC uniform, and the costumed figure of Wonder Girl act as maids of honor. General William Blankenship, the director of military intelligence, wore his regular Class A uniform and acted as Best Man.

The wedding couple had eschewed formal attire as well. Colonel Steve Trevor wore his standard Class A uniform, while Wonder Woman wore her familiar red-blue-and-gold costume.

The rector of the Cathedral officiated.

"We are gathered here today," he said with usual ceremonial solemnity, "To take part in the time-honored ceremony of holy matrimony. A ceremony where two people declare their love for each other in the sight of God, and enter into a bond that is everlasting.

"Do you, Steven Leonard Trevor, take Diana to be your lawfully wedded wife, for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, till death do you part?"

He looked at her with an expression that radiated pure love, "I do."

"And do you Diana, take Steven Leonard Trevor to be your lawfully wedded husband, for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, till death do you part?"

She looked back at him with the same expression, "I do."

And then, they went through the ritual of exchanging rings. Finally, the rector looked at them with considerable pride and said, "By the power vested in me, I now declare that you are both man and wife. What God hath joined together, let no man put asunder. You may kiss the bride."

As Mr. and Mrs. Trevor came together, the fifteen guests in the Cathedral rose to their feet and began to vigorously applaud.

A new chapter had begun in the lives of Steve Trevor and Wonder Woman. One that they would always remember as the happiest of their lives.

Epilogue: December 25, 1991

The remnants of the Christmas party still lingered in the living room of the house. Diana sighed and wondered how it was possible for so many to come together and for everything to go off without the slightest hitch.

They had all come though. All four of her children, their spouses, and her seven grandchildren. Drusilla had managed to arrive too, and together they had enjoyed a glorious time of close intimacy.

Now they had all gone, and another Christmas was over.

She stopped in front of the mirror and looked herself over. Her black hair had acquired a few streaks of gray that she'd never bothered to touch up, but for the most part she looked little different from when she'd first come to America a half-century ago. The aging process might have become more accelerated for her, but it was still ten times slower than the average mortal. She could still wear her familiar costume as she did now, and still be easily regarded as the most beautiful woman in the world.

She quietly opened the bedroom door and saw that Steve was still lying awake in bed, his eyes focused on the television. She knew the day had been a struggle for him, as he’d tried to project nothing but good health and strength for the ones who meant so much to him. But all the while, Diana knew that it was the valiant effort of a soldier fighting a battle in a war that he knew he was going to lose anyway. It had been that way ever since Steve had first been diagnosed with cancer two years earlier. He had put up a long fight, but it had left him weakened considerably, and both of them knew that time was growing short for them.

"Hi," he turned his leathery face toward her.

"I hope I didn't bother you," she came over to the bed and sat down next to him.

"Not at all," Steve shook his head, "I was just watching the news. Gorbachev's resigned."

She looked at the set and lifted an eyebrow, "Really?"

"Yep," Steve grinned, "That means that as of tonight, the Soviet Union officially ceased to exist."

"That’s wonderful," Diana looked at the set, "That’s the ultimate proof that the Cold War is really over for good."

"I'm so glad I lived to see this," he suddenly coughed, "I'm glad to know that all those years of struggling, all those years of fighting communism were worth it."

She squeezed his hand and looked down at him with concern, "Are you feeling all right?"

"I'm fine," he whispered, "I never felt better. I've just been thinking a lot, that's all."

"I don't blame you," she said, "This has been a great day for us."

"Yes," her husband nodded, "A day for doing a lot of reflecting. To see how blessed I am to have such a wonderful family. And to also see how blessed our country is, for having won what turned out to be World War III after all. A war that never got hot, but it was still a war for the same principles of defending freedom."

"You’re right," Diana said as she squeezed his hand more tightly and looked for a moment at the televised replay of the last leader of the Soviet Union delivering his resignation speech. And then, a cut to the view of the Kremlin, as the hammer and sickle flag was lowered for the last time, to be replaced by the tricolor flag of Czarist Russia, that was once again the symbol of that nation.

"You know it occurred to me," Steve went on, "Our marriage has roughly encompassed the same period. And at times, it seems like it's been linked to the whole history of the Cold War. Starting with a renegade Nazi working for the Russians who tried to kill us one fine morning in New Mexico."

"I know," Diana smiled and began running her hand through his thinning white hair, "That was an incredible three week period. And all the things we didn't know back then. I never would have guessed that Klaus Fuchs was the one who'd been working for the Russians from inside the Manhattan Project. He seemed too quiet to be a spy."

"Yeah," he nodded, "And Alger Hiss always seemed too charming to be a traitor. If it hadn't been for the way he stonewalled us after those Iron Brigade files so conveniently disappeared, I never would have believed Whittaker Chambers."

She kept stroking his hair and looked down at him with an adoring expression, "We went through a lot of other wonderful things too. Four beautiful children. A lot more adventures not just with spies and terrorists, but domestic crime as well. Your promotion to four-star-general and two years as the best chief of staff the Air Force ever had. We made a very good team during the Cold War just like we did in World War II."

"Not that it wasn’t without its rough moments," he said matter-of-factly, "Vietnam. The fights we had over that dirty little war which led to our infamous two year separation and your going back to Paradise Island. Boy did the press love that."

A slightly pained expression came over Diana’s face as she heard the reference to the most difficult time of her life over the last fifty years.

"Hush," she said gently, "I don't want to remember the bad moments. I only want to remember all the love and joy you've given me these last forty-six years. What we've had, I cherish more than everything else I ever had for the previous 2500 years of my life. I'm glad I stayed here, and I'm glad that fighting the Cold War turned out to have been worth the effort. The world is a much safer place because we chose to stand up against Soviet tyranny. And I might not have liked the overall size of our arsenals from time to time, but the fact that we had a bomb made sure that there wasn’t another ground war like World War II was. The bomb ended up saving more lives than it killed."

"I'm glad you agree," he smiled thinly, enjoying every moment of feeling the gentle touch of her hand. "I'll be honest Diana. There were a lot of moments when I was afraid that I'd forced you to take part in something that went against your values."

"Nonsense," she said gently, "We might have bungled the fight a few times. McCarthyism and Vietnam were black spots in the cause. And you and I didn’t always see eye-to-eye on who was a better leader for the country. But anyone who thinks we were wrong to take a firm stance against the Russians in 1945 is a naive fool. I'm just as proud of what I did to help us win the Cold War as I am about what I did to help beat the Nazis. And I'm glad to see that for now, there's no other evil superpower out there to take the place of the Soviet Union. For the first time, I almost feel as if all the work I've done here is complete. And thanks be to the God you worship and the goddess I worship that I had you to lean on for support."

"I'm glad I made you happy," his voice dimmed, "I love you, Diana."

She leaned down and softly kissed him on the lips, "I love you, Steve."

The seventy-six year old retired general looked up at her and sighed, "If I were ten years younger, I'd ask you to climb in next to me, and we could celebrate the Birth of the Savior in our own way."

Wonder Woman smiled coyly, pulled back the sheets and climbed into the bed.

"It's never too late to try," she whispered teasingly, "Don't think you're too old for sex. Just remember you're talking to someone even older."

He managed to wrap his arms around her, "My beautiful angel," his voice dripped with love, "My Wonder Woman."

As he fumbled with her costume, she gently reached up and turned off the light.

It was the last night the two of them would ever share together. After making love to each other, the two of them would contentedly fall asleep in each other's arms. But only one of them would wake up.

When Diana awoke, it only took her seconds to realize what had happened. For a long time, she found herself unable to move from her bed, and unable to take her eyes off her husband. Never holding back her tears, but never giving into hysterics or a breakdown. All she needed to see was that her husband was now smiling peacefully, and reassuring her that he had now gone to a better place where there was no more suffering for anyone.

"Goodbye my dearest," Diana whispered, the tears streaming down her face as she kissed him one last time on the lips.

A week later, Diana, dressed totally in black, stood alongside with her family as an Honor Guard at Arlington National Cemetery laid her husband to rest in a military ceremony.

After the playing of Taps, the Honor Guard folded the colors of the American flag and presented them to her. She nodded in acknowledgment and took them.

Shortly afterwards, people took notice of the fact that Mrs. Trevor had quietly withdrawn from the public eye.

Indeed, the woman who had been renowned the world over as Wonder Woman, was never seen again by anyone who wasn't part of her family.

She had at long last chosen to return to Paradise Island forever, to resume her position as the heiress to the Amazon throne.

"It's over," she'd said when Hippolyte had greeted her with a tender embrace, "My work is done."

There were more than fifty centuries of life left for Diana, Princess and eventually Queen of the Amazons. But never again would she feel as happy and fulfilled as she had during the fifty years she'd spent in America.