The invisible jet soars above the Atlantic ocean enroute for Washington DC. At the helm is Princess Diana of Paradise Island. Within minutes, she will reach her destination and resume her familiar dual roles of Air Force Captain Diana Prince and famed Justice Leaguer Wonder Woman. At that point, she must bury her feelings and project the pretense that all is well. For the moment, however, her true mindset is vividly etched upon her face. The super heroine is worried. Make that, very worried.

"Justice League personal log." Diana speaks pensively. "Member - Wonder Woman, password clearance - 07241951. To be accessed by the rest of the membership only upon my death. This recording is made nineteen hours after our combined triumph over my nemesis Circe. The enchantress was exiled to a dimension entirely devoid of magic; therefore relegating her to live a normal life as a non-threat to others. At the time, it appeared that our plan had worked to perfection. Alas, I was mistaken. Circe devised a means of escape which will also result in the demise of Wonder Woman and perhaps the entire JLA!"

Diana recounts "To overcome Circe's formidable magic, Lord Zeus endowed my golden lasso with the ability to open a gateway between dimensions. My body fueled the process and ultimately propelled my unwilling adversary through the portal. Unfortunately, using myself as a power source left me unusually vulnerable to Circe's sorcery. As she recognized the inevitability of her defeat, the witch desperately abandoned her resistance and focused her final mystic incantation upon me. It appeared that she had unsuccessfully attempted to revert me back into clay, but that was an intentional red herring. Her actual target was my powers. My Amazon strength and associated abilities are now ebbing away. I would liken this to a gas tank which has sprung a leak. Before long, it will be empty."

"The significance of this action goes beyond the impact upon me." Wonder Woman further explains. "My Amazon strength was essentially the key that unlocked the door to Circe's prison and slammed it shut behind her. Without my powers, nothing remains to keep the portal plugged. Once my might is totally depleted, Circe is granted a 'get out of jail free' card! Should I perish, she will immediately gain her freedom."

"Given this predicament, my first recourse should be to turn to my friends and colleagues in the Justice League. To my dismay, my foe has effectively eliminated that option. Her spell is incredibly potent and it is focused through me. Should any of you, either consciously or subconsciously, recognize that my Amazon powers are waning, that individual will immediately be stricken with utter insanity. I am a risk to all of you. As such, I can not seek your assistance; I must handle this alone. Furthermore, there is one member of the league, whose identity is unknown, that is acutely deadly to me. A single touch from this person will kill me instantly."

"With the obvious dangers that we pose to each other, I would like to just stay secluded from the JLA while I deal with this crisis. Circe has other plans. I am compelled to keep steady contact with the league. I must cross paths with at least one JLA member every six hours. Circe revels in taunting me and apparently couldn't resist forcing me to walk on eggshells around all of you."

"This week is going to be very difficult. I am guessing that I have about six days until my powers are completely gone. In that time I must do everything I can to stop Circe's escape while preventing harm from befalling myself or my JLA friends. For the better good, I will have to resort to tactics atypical and unbecoming of Wonder Woman. Should this record survive me, I ask that you forgive me for that which I am about to do."

"End recording." she states solemnly after a long pause.

*****

"Di! Where have you been?" Etta Candy queries as she rubs the sleep out of her eyes. "It's 4:00 in the morning! I don't mean to be a busybody, but this disappearing act of yours has got me worried." Diana Prince hears her roommate's words, but she isn't paying attention. The captain rifles through her drawers and packs a quick suitcase.

"Etta, I don't have time to explain." Diana notes as she makes her way to the closet. "I'm going to be gone for about a week and I need you to cover for me with Steve and the General." Etta groans with disapproval. "Diana, General Darnell has been looking for you for the past two days. Even Steve noticed yesterday that you weren't around. You can't keep going AWOL Di. The general's going to throw the hammer at you!"

Diana hugs her well-intentioned friend. "Tell them that I am in Buenos Aires following up a lead on the Brendeman file. I'll fill them in when I return and I promise you that this is the last time I'll put you on the spot like this." Etta smiles reluctantly. "Just tell me one thing Di." Candy requests. "You're not eloping, are you?"

Diana Prince chuckles aloud. "No Etta, I am NOT getting married!" As she leaves their apartment, Ms. Prince considers to herself the irony. "I only wish that were the extent of my problems!"

*****

"Shayera, you neglected to mention that I should be expecting guests!" Hawkman teases as he kisses his wife. "To what do we owe the pleasure of your company Diana? Have you journeyed halfway around the world for business or pleasure?" he asks. The princess smiles at the charming Thanagarian couple. The great love, respect and kinship that Katar and Shayera Hol feel for one another has always impressed the Amazon. "There's no need for battle gear, Katar!" Wonder Woman responds. "I just came to chat."

The Hawkship orbits the Earth high above the Himilaya Mountains. Katar and Shayera have spent the past few days in this region studying the ancient archaeology of India and China. As museum curators in their civilian identities, the couple loves to break away every so often for such sojourns on this always intriguing foreign planet. Now accustomed to the different time zone, the Hols are about to sit down to dinner and they invite the princess to join them.

"I was just explaining to Shayera my purpose for being here." Diana begins. "Two weeks from today will mark the one year anniversary of Zatanna's induction into the Justice League. She's been through so much, what with her mother's death and all. She's adjusted to the league very well and I think it would be a nice gesture if we held a little surprise celebration for her."

Shayera grins mischievously at the idea and Katar nods his approval. Of all the JLA members, the Thanagarians are the closest friends of Zatanna. "We never make a big deal out such things," Hawkgirl observes, "but I think Diana is right. Zee's a magician and she loves parties. She'll really appreciate this!"

Katar reaches for the plate of rolls resting directly in front of him. Wonder Woman's actions are lightning swift and totally unanticipated. The hero's wrists are bound with the magic lasso so quickly that he hasn't time to defend himself. A shocked Hawkman looks first at his captor and then at Shayera. Hawkgirl is not bound, but she makes no effort to come to her husband's aid. "I'm sorry Katar." Hawkgirl apologizes. "She got the drop on me before you arrived. The lasso compelled me to play along with her ruse."

"Enough with the games Circe!" Hawkman snaps. "Obviously you've somehow possessed Diana. There's no way she would turn against us on her own. What do you hope to gain by this?"

"I'm not Circe, Katar. I really am Wonder Woman. My friends, I wish I could explain myself, but the situation precludes me from so doing. I have desperate need for the Hawkship. I deeply regret having to take it from you by force and deception. Eventually, my motivations will be clear to you, but for now I can only ask your forgiveness."

With that, Wonder Woman uses her golden lariat to command Katar and Shayera to give her a quick crash course on the ship's technology. She orders them to relinquish all command codes to her. The Amazon compels them to completely forget this incident such that they will be unable to recall it even under hypnosis or the magic lasso itself. She then returns the Hols to their home in Midway City and plants in their minds the memory of having flown home on their own.

"I'd best get this ship back to Paradise Island right away." Diana thinks to herself. "Katar and Shayera should be occupied with their new artifacts for a while, but they're bound to discover the theft of their prized vessel fairly soon. The mystical aura that shields my homeland from the outside world will also block any attempts by the JLA to locate the ship. I'll be able to use its advanced technologies without being detected. I just pray to Hera that this Thanagarian technology provides the answer to my dilemma!"