Remember that scene in >Superman II when he gets the shit kicked out of him after he gives up his super powers? That�s the kind of week I�ve had. Super sized bruises on this little mortal body.

Oh, don't get me wrong, it's not usually like this. Like all women I know, most days I rejoice in my role as Wonder Woman; I accomplish more in a day than Linda Carter would ever dream of. I can fight the everyday villains, deflect bullets with my jewelry, and wrap the Golden Lasso of Truth around every situation to get to the crux of the matter. Most days I even look pretty damned fetching with stars tattooed on my rear end walking around in those kick ass boots she wore. However, lately, human functions that used to come naturally like eating, sleeping and breathing, seem superlative now, and I sometimes have to remind myself that those are the only things I have neglected during my day. It may be catching up with me, as this week, I may have tripped over Kryptonite stones in my path few times more than I normally do.

If there was ever a successful spiritual autopsy performed, I know that they would find the soul located in the human throat. Halfway between the heart and the mind--feeding from both--but sustaining exclusively from neither. It is the point where the voice and the blush originate, and why your first reaction to anything emotional--euphoric or devastating--begins with a lump in your throat. Speechless, breathless; all times when the human soul is raw and exposed.

I think that is why the cape is such a popular choice for the Super Hero uniform. It conveniently and helpfully wraps around the neck, blanketing the soul to protect it.

Wonder Woman only wore the cape occasionally, as a mere fashion accessory, it seemed. That’s why I felt she was more intriguing than her male counterparts--she was much more unmasked than the men. Her tight little revealing costume, cape-less shoulders, invisible jet... She seemed to say, "Look, here's me, here's my soul. It's part of my strength, not my weakness." God, I love Wonder Woman.

But after weeks like this one, when my naked soul is causing me to get the shit kicked out of me, I really just want to be Lois Lane.

Sure, she was a little ditzy, eccentric even. Smart, even though common sense eluded her. She was a frequent victim, but then she was recognized as someone worth saving. The world fell in love with her humanity. Her beauty was in the fact that she was a living, breathing, bleeding woman; one who could bring a hero to his knees just by the sheer fact that her soul didn't hide under cape.

This morning, when this Wonder Woman looked into the mirror, Lois Lane stared back at her. Lois: the sometimes clumsy, easily distracted by a pair of lenseless glasses and a hat, ex Super hero girlfriend turned tragically fallible Desperate Housewife; pleaded to the Woman Super Hero Without Pretense, Save me.

�2006 Tracey Henry