From the horizon, four small boats and a single warship cut through the gray waters toward Paradise Island.
Thea was just debating whether she should sink the ship first when— Boom!
The "warship," a light cruiser by the looks of it, slammed straight into the reef and tilted violently to one side. Wait. It hit a rock?
Within seconds, chaos erupted on deck. Sailors scrambled to abandon ship, leaping into the lifeboats as water surged in through the hull. The cruiser listed hard, groaned, and went under. From first impact to full submersion took barely ten seconds.
Thea blinked. "Oh, come on…" She didn't buy for a second that this was natural. Sure, there were reefs near Themyscira, but a twentieth-century warship with reinforced armor shouldn't go down like that. No—something divine was pulling strings again.
The explosion snapped Diana out of her fascination with the strange "man." Her gaze shifted toward the four smaller boats closing fast, loaded with armed German soldiers.
"They've found us!" Steve Trevor—now properly awake and panicking—stumbled to his feet, eyes wide as he recognized the black iron crosses on their uniforms. "They followed me! They're going to land!"
"Diana!" Queen Hippolyta's furious shout rolled over the surf, her tone half panic, half command.
Thea exhaled. Good. The plot's back on track.
"Diana, get away from there!" Hippolyta barked before her daughter could answer. She turned to the soldiers at her back, voice like thunder. "Archers—ready!"
From their vantage point atop the cliffs—nearly a kilometer from the beach—the Amazons drew their bows. That far? Thea frowned. They can't possibly have that range…
Then she saw it: a ripple of greenish wind curling around the Queen, sweeping outward to cloak the warriors beside her. Ah. Magic gear.
That explained everything. Thea doubted every Amazon had a divine artifact of her own—there weren't that many eyes in the world, not even if Horus turned into a centipede—but Hippolyta's weapon? Definitely a gift from Zeus. Probably one of many.
And with that blessing, the Amazons struck first.
A rain of arrows screamed through the air and tore into the advancing soldiers. The first volley was flawless. But the Queen had arrived in haste, bringing only fifty guards. Across the surf, nearly three hundred German troops bristled with rifles.
Their first rank fell, but the rest roared in defiance. Discipline took over where fear failed. Within moments, they resumed paddling, closing the gap with machine-like precision.
"Diana—take him and hide! I'll join the fight!" Thea barked, already nocking an arrow.
Paradise Island wasn't her home, but after months here, the faces on those cliffs weren't strangers. They were comrades. Friends. And Thea refused to let history repeat itself—the bloody battle that had once taken so many of them.
As for the Germans? In the original timeline, they were all doomed anyway. Killing them wouldn't disturb a single thread of fate.
Before they entered the anti-magic zone, Thea loosed four glowing arrows in quick succession. Each one carried a Flash spell—basic illumination magic, but blinding when weaponized.
The moment they hit, the soldiers screamed, shielding their eyes as if the sun itself had exploded over the water.
"Keep rowing!" their commander shouted in harsh German. Trained, disciplined—they obeyed even half-blind, rowing toward shore through the searing light.
"Impressive," Thea muttered. "The German army really did earn its reputation." Then she exhaled—and shot the officer clean through the chest.
Another instantly took command. When he fell, another stepped up. And another. Efficient bastards.
Thea's respect didn't slow her down. Standing firm atop the cliff, she fired arrow after arrow, every shot finding a target. She aimed for rifles, gunners, commanders—anyone who could return fire. By her seventeenth arrow, the beach had turned into chaos.
Then the Amazons charged. Battle cries echoed as they leapt from the cliffs, blades flashing, landing amidst the stunned soldiers.
The Germans recovered fast. Their new commander—a burly man with a thick beard that looked impressive in 1918 but filthy to Thea's 21st-century eyes—smirked as he barked orders. "Primitive savages," he scoffed. "Show them the power of science!"
Thea's eye twitched. Savages? Really? From the guy with a face like a shag carpet? Insult to her and to fashion. Unforgivable.
Shooting him would be too merciful. She wanted to drag that smug face back and let him see what "primitive" looked like up close.
With a muttered spell, Thea cast Windstride. Her body blurred into a silver streak as divine energy surged through her limbs.
The bearded officer had no idea what was coming. He rallied his men, yelling, "Fire!" Fifty rifles barked at once.
Through Thea's enhanced sight, each bullet path lit up like a map. Several would hit the Amazons mid-leap. They didn't even flinch—whether from bravery or ignorance, she couldn't tell. Not today.
Abandoning her target, she exploded forward. She tore across the field faster than the wind, faster than the eye could follow—maybe not Flash-level speed, but close enough. Eight hundred kilometers per hour.
Bullets met her instead of the Amazons. Her hands, wrapped in shimmering magic, swept through the air like twin blades, deflecting every shot. Steel clinked, sparks flared. Not one bullet reached its mark.
"You have science—" she shouted over the chaos, "—but I have the gods!"
Her voice rolled like thunder as she flicked her wrists, sending the bullets spinning back in a storm of metallic glitter. She hadn't practiced with thrown weapons, but her psychic senses gave her aim enough. The volley wasn't meant to kill—just to terrify.
And terrify it did. The Germans faltered as their own bullets whistled past their ears.
Then—hooves. A thunderous drumming filled the air as Hippolyta and her mounted guards circled down from the cliffs. Gleaming armor, flowing capes — they hit the enemy flank like a divine storm.
Blades clashed. Shouts turned to screams. Thea's reflected bullets had stunned them just long enough. By the time the Germans regrouped, Hippolyta was already among them, her sword blazing with divine wind.
Their tight formation shattered. Discipline broke. Soldiers fell back in twos and threes, forming desperate clusters as the Amazons cut them down.
And amid it all, Thea stood at the edge of the surf, her bow drawn, her eyes glowing with silver light— ready for whoever dared come next.