The commotion at breakfast naturally caught the attention of the two women.
Thea's jaw tightened as she watched the hotel staff's blatant discrimination. She wanted to blast the receptionist through the nearest wall — but causing a scene would draw too much attention. She caught Diana's eye and gave a slight shake of her head. *Later. They'd deal with this injustice later.*
Diana frowned at Steve's choice of teammate for different reasons — tactical ones. The new recruit didn't look like a fighter. Wiry civilian build, untrained posture, nervous energy. Ancient Greece valued warrior prowess, and Themyscira had inherited that culture. Steve himself might have been weak, but at least he carried himself with military discipline.
This man looked like he'd never held a weapon in his life.
Could he even fight? Would he slow them down in combat?
Future Diana — after spending a century among humans — would learn that courage and skill came in all forms. But this Diana, fresh from Themyscira, judged fighters by their bearing. And this recruit's civilian stance genuinely worried her.
Fortunately, Steve wasn't alone. Behind him walked a kindly limping gentleman.
Thea's eyes narrowed.
Ares was going to meet Diana directly now?
Having lived disguised among humans for years, Ares knew people well.
Using his noble title, he smoothly resolved the situation.
Steve spotted the two women and hurried over, introducing the limping man behind him.
"This is the patriotic gentleman I told you about — Sir Patrick Morgan."
"Sir, these are my companions from my journey — both righteous friends. This is Diana, and this is Artemis…"
Ares's disguise was flawless — not a trace of divine power leaked.
He gave the two women a stiff old-fashioned hat-tip.
Thea sneered inwardly.
A hat-tip, huh… He wouldn't dare shake hands. If he did, his cover would explode instantly.
She didn't realize her cold attitude only deepened Ares's misunderstanding, convincing him she truly was an Amazon.
He ignored Thea and focused entirely on Diana.
Diana noticed nothing strange about him.
Seeing Thea remain silent, she didn't know what to say either — she simply nodded politely.
Steve then introduced his two "elite specialists."
One was the translator who allegedly spoke many languages.
The other was a puffy-eyed white man in a small round hat, introduced as a sharpshooter who never missed.
An Indian, a Jew… add the Native American waiting at the frontline and it really was a multi-national squad — very American indeed.
Thea skimmed them both once and lost interest.
Calling them benchwarmers was a compliment.
Especially that "sharpshooter" — sending him to the European front was a death sentence.
Their only noteworthy trait was that they weren't afraid of dying.
Steve seemed aware of how unimpressive his recruits were, so he launched into a long speech about his plan.
To Thea, the plan was idiotic.
They would charge ahead like cannon fodder, while the limping nobleman — Ares — relayed commands through Steve's plump secretary, sending them running all over the place.
This let Ares track their every move while satisfying his desire to act as the puppeteer.
Thea smirked.
He thought he was the chess master — but he had no idea even greater wills were watching him.
This little comedy was nothing more than the gods giving Diana a beginner's trial.
Still, she had the goddess's divine bow now.
She wouldn't break the script. She would happily play her role as the well-behaved "support unit."
Thus, this plan — clearly formed under Ares's magical suggestion — passed smoothly, with neither woman nor the "assistants" raising objections.
Ares finally handed Steve an envelope.
"This should last you a few days."
He left with a genial smile.
Thea glanced at the envelope and curled her lip.
Thin.
Not even ten bills, probably.
Typical cheapskate.
After paying the two "specialists," they'd have just enough left for "a few days."
Then they could starve.
Steve seemed to come to the same conclusion, squeezing the envelope and looking over at the two women who somehow could afford luxury hotels.
Naturally, Thea wouldn't let them take a small, cramped boat.
She and Diana boarded a luxury liner, and after breakfast — which Diana repeatedly praised for being delicious and "full of promise" — Thea dragged Steve and his two "elite" teammates aboard a merchant ship reportedly registered under the neutral Queen of the Netherlands.
Less than half a day later, they reached the Belgian coast and found Steve's third helper — the Native American nicknamed "Chief."
Even Thea, for all her linguistic talents, couldn't figure out why a Native American had come all the way to Europe to help white men fight a war.
Diana, though, showed interest in the huge, muscular man.
But after she casually threw him ten meters with one arm…
The interest evaporated instantly.
"People out here are so weak…"
Diana complained, frustrated.
Thea was speechless.
What do you mean 'people out here'?
You can't use me as the baseline for measuring humans!
That's dangerous thinking!
If one day she saw the legendary Batman and tried to "test his strength," wouldn't she punch him straight to the moon?
After that little episode, "Chief," still unhappy, challenged the two women to archery and lassoing.
The results were obvious.
The once-proud Native warrior now avoided their eyes — especially after learning from Steve that Thea was a "witch."
He didn't dare show off again.
The team then erupted into debate over whether to stop the German poison attack or go straight to the center of the battlefield to find "Ares."
Naturally, Thea fully supported Diana.
In the end, Steve dropped a bombshell:
General Ludendorff was Ares — and he was planning a poison gas strike.
"See? Perfect! If we kill him, Ares might die too!"
In Steve's version, Ludendorff was basically the embodiment of all evil — the kind of man who couldn't go a day without eating a few children.
It was the first time Diana had heard something so horrifying.
Furious, she agreed to kill the man-eating demon-general first.
Thea was impressed by how boldly Steve lied to secure Diana's help.
He took advantage of their ignorance of the Great War and spun a detailed tale about Ludendorff being a warmonger who launched a world war for personal ambition — presenting claims, evidence, arguments…
If Thea hadn't taken history classes, even she might've believed him.
The Front Lines of War
With their target confirmed, Steve secretly let out a breath of relief.
He knew full well that relying on the "elite trio" he'd gathered to assassinate a Junker noble like Ludendorff was pure fantasy.
Dragging these two terrifyingly strong women into the plan cost him some dignity — but for his country and his people, a little sacrifice was acceptable.
What Thea didn't know was that, when the world finally returned to peace in the future, Diana would confront Steve with America's self-written history textbooks.
She'd demand he explain all the stories he fabricated back then.
Steve would be left speechless — and the two would sever ties for good.
Right now, though, Steve felt rather pleased with himself, unaware of the price he'd one day pay for today's careless lies.
As the small team crossed the battlefield and passed a ruined village, Diana faced her first major choice in life.
A disheveled woman clutching a child grabbed her.
"Please… help me. My house, my food — everything is gone. Please!"
Thea put on a sympathetic expression — but her mind was sharp with suspicion.
This woman had all her limbs, no injuries… yet instead of fleeing west, just ten miles to safety, she was hiding with her child in a frontline trench?
Her heart was way too big.
A hundred people had passed by already — and she grabbed Diana with perfect accuracy?
Too convenient.
Highly suspicious.
This wasn't the tug-of-war stage of the war anymore — it was nearly over.
The rear lines were already stable.
Anyone with sense would've evacuated.
This woman was practically performing her role — and Thea could only laugh inwardly.
"We should help her. She says her village has no food, and the people have become slaves. This is my duty!"
For once, Diana didn't consult Thea.
It was natural — but Thea still felt a little bittersweet.
Little white flower Diana is finally growing up.
Steve didn't realize this was Ares's test.
He stuck stubbornly to the original plan: pass through the village and move to the next safe point.
"How can you have no compassion?!"
Diana's brows drew together as she glared at him.
Then she turned to Thea.
"My sister… you'll support me, right?"
Thea pretended to struggle.
"Diana… the Queen forbids us from taking part in the war…"
Instantly, the light in Diana's eyes dimmed.
"But—I won't enter the war under the Amazon name."
Thea picked up a nearby rifle.
"I'll fight as a human. I told you — I will always stand with you!"
Her firm tone nearly made Diana leap with joy.
She turned to Steve and the others.
"And you?"
Steve, clinging to his dream of saving the world, avoided her gaze.
The three "specialists" didn't even bother — no one would risk their lives for a few hundred pounds.
Diana loosened her hair, letting the black strands fall around her shoulders.
She set Antiope's tiara, shed her coat, revealing her gleaming armor, and looked back over her shoulder.
"I'm going to save them."
Then she vaulted out of the trench and sprinted toward the German lines.
Thea followed with a rifle, firing supportively — or at least pretending to.
Unlike Themyscira, this battlefield wasn't hers to tear apart freely.
German soldiers here were real people with real futures — she couldn't risk killing the father or grandfather of some future major historical figure.
Reckless action could destroy the timeline.
Still, she couldn't refuse Diana's call.
So she chose the safest path — a seemingly bold, actually harmless performance:
Fight as a human, no divine bow, just a rifle.
Shoot wildly and hit nothing.
Perfectly acceptable.
And with artillery roaring everywhere, long-range spells would be lost in the noise.
Missing was easy.
Hitting corpses was even easier — and surely an already-dead man taking one more bullet wouldn't damage the timeline.
While Thea safely "paddled," Diana demonstrated exactly what a fully armored tank-warrior looked like trampling ordinary soldiers.
Block, deflect, parry — bullets met her bracers, artillery met her shield.
The Germans weren't weak; their machine-gunners howled as they unleashed streams of bullets at her.
Her advance slowed, shield firmly raised.
Like Captain America's shield but even worse — it had built-in aggro.
The Germans seemed to hate the shield more than anything; ignoring her long legs entirely, they poured every weapon they had into that one glowing target.
Thea felt a faint ripple of magic.
Steve suddenly looked fired up and leapt out of the trench.
His teammates, for some unknown reason, followed with newfound bravery.
Such unnatural behavior immediately caught Thea's attention.
A confusion spell?
No…
She opened the Eye of Horus and scanned Steve.
Ha.
A phantom battlefield shimmered above his head — countless soldiers fighting.
The God of War's domain.
So Ares had given him a little push.
Thea didn't intend to break it — Steve now had a low-level war blessing.
As long as he didn't jump into a cannon barrel, he shouldn't die.
Still… it wasn't very strong.
The other "specialists" barely showed any war-phantoms at all.
Their courage probably came more from loyalty to Steve than divine influence.
Individually, they were weak — but their charge was the final straw.
When "Chief" hurled a grenade into the German trench, Diana seized the opportunity and stormed inside.
Sensing victory, the Allied trench commander immediately ordered a full assault.
Thea held her rifle and charged, keeping up appearances.
"Diana, are you alright?"
Thea checked her over — not even a strand of hair out of place.
A true divine body.
"I'm fine. We're heading to that village!"
After witnessing the power of human weapons firsthand, Diana finally had confidence — she wasn't even scratched.
She led the rush into the small German-occupied village.
Unlike her, Thea didn't have divine armor and wasn't nearly as reckless.
Her body, enhanced by divine power, could withstand bullets, but getting hit hurt.
She kept her distance as they entered the village.
The battle was exhilarating for Diana — but suffocating for Thea.
This German soldier looks promising — big forehead, might be somebody's important ancestor.
This boy looks too young — spare him.
Eventually, Thea just stopped fighting altogether.
She shouted for the villagers hiding in their homes to come out and, using her powerful mental abilities, led a massive group through alleys and ruins.
There were so many people that even Diana stopped fighting and focused on covering their retreat.