Night mist drifted around the three of them, cool and silent. Only the fading clatter of the queen's hooves echoed in the distance. Diana lingered, shoulders trembling, until Thea gently tugged her forward.
"Don't look back. Let's go."
In the original timeline, Diana left Themyscira carrying crushing guilt — the death of her sisters, the fall of Antiope — driving her into a near self-imposed exile.
But now?
The island was almost untouched.
Instead of mourning, the Amazons had prisoners — German soldiers who would no doubt be subjected to "research" during their leisure time.
Diana's sense of mission was unchanged, but the emotional push that once fueled her departure was clearly weaker.
Thea didn't know how to fix that. She could see Diana's resolve wavering after Hippolyta's final words. And who could blame her? Anyone would hesitate at leaving a home they'd lived in for five thousand years — especially someone who had never touched the outside world.
Time for tough love.
No hesitation allowed.
Thea grabbed her firmly and hauled her into the small boat.
Steve didn't need prompting — he had already jumped in and was waiting nervously.
"This boat… doesn't seem to have an oar?"
For a spy, Steve's ability to read the room was excellent. Diana's mood was clearly fragile, so he didn't dare address her. But after searching the tiny boat and finding no oars or engine, he turned to the friendlier-looking Thea.
"No oar?"
How did the two of them leave the island in the original movie?
Thea scanned the boat — no paddles in sight.
Did they… just drift?
Whatever.
Once outside the island's boundary, her light-absorption ability kicked back in. Moonlight washed over her face, giving her a soft, holy glow.
She raised her hand — and summoned the same spell that had terrified Steve earlier. A mage's hand unfurled the sail. She remembered these techniques from her childhood, watching old Robert set out to sea. Then she conjured a gust spell, wind filling the sail with a crisp snap.
The boat shot away from Themyscira at near full speed.
"Oh… it's sail-powered. I thought you used oars…"
Steve felt stupid saying it. In the darkness he hadn't even noticed the mast. To cover his embarrassment, he hurried to explain.
Thea waved him off.
"Forget it. Do you know where we are? Or at least how far London is from here?"
Steve blinked.
Do you people not even know where you are?
Privately, he judged them as primitive islanders, but out loud he stayed polite.
"I flew from Germany toward Britain. Something threw my plane off course and I ended up over the sea. We should be in the North Sea now. Do you know the North Sea?"
"Cut it out. Of course I know the North Sea."
Thea snapped.
Queen Consolidated had a branch in Norway in the future — she had been to Europe as a child. Being mistaken for a savage stung.
She felt the magic in her blood rising — nighttime reduced her spell cost. Channeling power to her skin, she lifted into the air. Steve's expression turned into pure oh-hell-no panic as she rose a hundred meters up.
Then she unleashed the Eye of Horus.
South: one nautical mile — nothing. Two. Five. Ten. Nothing.
North: one mile. Three.
Seven miles out — she finally saw a coastline. She scanned the people, their clothing, and the signage.
Landing softly back onto the boat, she deadpanned:
"North Sea my ass. This is the eastern Mediterranean. Seven miles north is Crete."
She rolled her eyes.
Honestly, how could the movie expect anyone to believe they drifted from Themyscira to London overnight without paddles or direction? That would put the British Isles practically on Zeus' doorstep. But Zeus was Greek — Britain belonged to the Celtic gods. Why would he hide a mistress in enemy territory?
Crete made far more sense.
Zeus practically lived there.
Too many eyes in mainland Greece, but the scattered islands around Crete were perfect for hiding a divine affair. No prying gods, no awkward questions.
"Crete…?"
Steve frowned. His geography was excellent — and this made no sense. His plane had been flying east. Now they were west.
He started doubting his entire sense of direction.
London was far away.
The trio needed to land — whether for transportation, supplies, or simply water.
"Why don't we go straight to Ares? Where the fighting is the fiercest — he must be there!"
Diana asked, wind tugging at her hair, her spirit finally recovering.
The question nearly made Thea choke.
She couldn't say,
Your mother lied. Ares is pretending to be crippled in London.
And she definitely couldn't say,
Your choices won't actually change the war. And another, even worse war is coming in twenty years. Ares is only partly involved. You're blaming the wrong guy.
She threw Steve a desperate look.
To his credit, Steve immediately rose to the challenge.
Full patriotic youth mode.
He delivered an impassioned speech about Doctor Poison, about the horror of her weapons, about how many people would die if they didn't stop her, about how returning to London could save countless lives.
Sincere. Emotional.
Heroic.
Diana still doubted his combat ability, but his convictions moved her.
She agreed. London first.
With their plan aligned, the next task was finding transportation.
Thea dared not summon her hoverboard — even Steve would start asking dangerous questions. Gideon had tried to prevent her from acquiring future-tech earlier for exactly this reason.
People weren't stupid — give them a sci-fi gadget and they could reverse-engineer half the tech tree.
If not for the Amazon armor looking exotic enough, Thea would never have worn her combat suit around them.
Magic would have to be her primary weapon for now.
With the direction confirmed, conversation faded.
Thea meditated and absorbed the night's energy.
Diana brooded over her thoughts.
Steve pinched his thigh repeatedly — still trying to wake himself from what he hoped was a nightmare.