I ask Diana more questions. Intimate questions. Dangerous questions.

It was about twenty minutes into one of those silences when I heard her moan again.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"I'm scared."

"Is it going badly?"

"Yes."

I swallowed. "Are you going to die?"

There was a long pause.

"Wonder Woman?"

"No," she said. "I do not believe so."

I relaxed, just a touch. "How can I help?"

"Talk to me."

"Talk to you?" I was surprised.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because I am scared, and because I have always taken comfort in the presence of others," she answered.

"Does... this mean your head is clearing?"

"No. But I can sense the presence of another, and that gives me courage even if I do not understand my surroundings."

"All right."

There was a long pause.

"Do I have to ask you questions to get you to respond?"

"Yes."

"Okay." I looked at her. "Who were the men?"

"What men?"

"The men you would... want to have a relationship with, if it were possible? And why isn't it feasible, other than your reputation?"

"Colonel Steven Trevor," she said. "But he seems older than I do, more paternal than romantic. And he is married. The one you would call Superman, though our values are somewhat different, and he is also married. The one you would call Batman, though we are too different to make it workable, and because he cannot open himself up enough with me. The one you would call Nightwing, though if I were to be in a relationship with him it would complicate my relationship with my sister. Hermes, of the Gods, though I have not worked up the nerve to ask and it would be... complicated at best."

"That's all?"

"There are others, but they are not as prevalent in my fantasies."

"You have fantasies?"

"Yes."

I swallowed. I really wanted to ask her one of them, but I hadn't quite gotten there yet. "You... said... 'the one I could call Superman.' You know his real name?"

"Yes."

"Yes. Yes, of course you do." I shivered, and looked at her. "What do you prefer to be called?"

"Diana."

I nodded. I'd heard that, but I wanted to be sure. "Diana... are you still delirious enough to... to likely not remember what we're saying after you recover?"

"Yes."

I paused. "I... hm. Phrased that badly. Will you remember this conversation after you recover?"

"No."

"Oh. Okay." I looked at her. "Would you... do you find me attractive?"

"I do not know."

"Fair enough. Let me guess -- your physical state makes it hard to figure out your emotional state?"

"In part. I also cannot clearly make you out. Though the lasso compels truth, it has not made me lucid enough to properly judge how I would feel about you."

"That's fair." I sat down close to her. "Do you wear underwear underneath that costume?"

"No."

"Really?"

"I cannot lie while the lasso is around me."

"Does this... line of questioning disturb you?"

"No."

"Because you don't understand it?"

"I do not have a conscious understanding of this conversation. My mind can perceive your presence, and it is comforting to me."

"Good." I looked at her. Maybe part of me was trying to be good, but the temptation was just too great. I'm no iron willed hero. "Why don't you wear underwear?"

"The uniform is designed to be worn over a nude body. The materials cling to skin. Had I worn something beneath it, it might slip."

"So... you don't wear underwear... for modesty's sake?"

"Correct."

"Has the uniform ever slipped?"

"No."

"Has anyone ever taken it off you?"

"No."

"No supervillain has ever stripped you or exposed you?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"A combination of things. Lack of proper opportunity. An understanding of what I would do to them if they did. Inopportune rescue before they would have a chance."

"What... would you do to... a villain... who stripped you?"

"I do not know. It would depend upon the situation."

"Of course." I looked at her. "How... could....."

She waited, her body still slick with sweat.

"Do you need anything else?" I half-whispered. "Food? Or water?"

"Not right now."

I nodded, though she wasn't looking at me. "How... could I... convince you to have a relat... to have sex with me?"

"Convince me it is the only way to execute my mission, if we presume I wouldn't want to have sex with you anyhow."

It was so matter of fact. 'Convince me it is the only way to execute my mission.' "What is your mission?" I whispered.

"To teach Man's World peace and harmony, and a better way. To protect the innocent, and fight against evil. To stand with and defend my friends and allies, and teach by word, deed and intention."

"Right." I could hardly believe what I was doing, mind. I was actually trying to figure out how to coerce Wonder Woman into having sex with me. My mind whirled. Teaching Man's World? Peace and harmony or protecting the innocent? Fighting evil? There wasn't any way those could be turned to....

'Defend my friends and allies,' she said.

"Oh," I said softly. "Of course."

I stood up, looking at this beautiful icon before me. I knew that any risk I took could be too much of one. I had to know what I was facing down. "Do you have any weaknesses?" I asked her.

"None that I would acknowledge," she said, her voice still quiet and distant. "I can have innocent lives used against me, forcing me into a submissive stance."

"But you don't lose your powers when we take your belt off or anything?'

"No. Those are just rumors."

"Yeah. Of course they are. Do you have any flaws or weaknesses?"

"Yes."

"Such as?"

"If my bracelets are removed, my power and fury become uncontrollable. It is a curse upon the Amazons. It is said that the bracelets can also be made to force us to be docile, but I have never heard of it happening."

"Are there other... side effects like that? In your powers?"

"Not that I'm aware of."

"Where do your powers come from?"

"I am the Goddess of Truth."

I stared. "You're... a Goddess?"

"Yes."

"A Greek Goddess?"

"I serve the pantheon you would call Greek, and I have stood among them as equals."

My heart began to pound. I knew a few things about Greek Mythology. Like I said -- English major when I had been in college.

She continued to kneel, still in her own world.

"Diana?" I asked, barely above a whisper.

"Yes?" she answered, clearly able to hear me.

"Are there... are there any oaths that you can't break? Oaths that bind you completely?" I was remembering something from the Illiad and other myths....

"Yes."

"What?"

"If I swear an oath by the River Styx, I must obey it, completely, regardless of the consequences," she said softly.

"Or what? You'll be dishonored?"

"It is not a question of dishonor. It is an oath which cannot be broken."

I nodded. "So... if you swear by the River Styx... you will have to abide by the terms of that oath?"

"Yes."

"No expiration date?"

"No."

I swallowed, and leaned close. "Diana," I whispered, "would you swear an oath to protect your friends?"

"Depending on the circumstance? Yes."

I swallowed again. My throat was dry. "What circumstances would keep you from swearing that oath?"

"I will not swear an oath to harm innocent people to protect my fellow heroes," she said, her voice still soft.

"Oh. Oh, of course. All right. Diana?"

"Yes?"

"Would you... swear an oath to sacrifice yourself... sexually... to protect your friends?"

"Yes."

"You would?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because my body is not worth more than my friends."

"No. No it isn't." I swallowed once more. I stood up, and slowly walked over to my laptop. I booted it up, and launched the right software to record a podcast. And then I walked back to the Amazon.

She was waiting, body still slick, eyes lidded. She was clearly moving back into sleep. I would have to work quickly, if I was going to do this.

"Diana," I said, my voice shaking slightly. "What is Superman's real name?"