Diana slowly withdrew her hand, though her gaze remained fixed on Daniel as if he were a new species she was still classifying.
"You shouldn't touch people like that," Daniel said calmly. "It gives the wrong impression."
It was a curious warning from a man who had committed far more scandalous acts without a flicker of hesitation.
Her brows knit slightly. "Who are you?"
There was no hostility in her tone—only curiosity. Since her birth, no man had ever stood on Themyscira. Now there were two.
"My introduction is… complicated," Daniel replied lightly. "We can save it for a quieter moment."
A distant mechanical rumble cut through the air.
Steve turned sharply toward the sea.
A German warship was approaching the island, smoke trailing from its stacks. Smaller boats were already being lowered into the water, soldiers rowing toward shore.
Their target was clearly him—he had stolen someone important's diary.
He looked between Diana and Daniel.
"Umm… I think we should leave. The Germans are coming."
He paused mid-sentence.
Why was he warning a man who had just claimed to be the god of death?
"Yeah, we should hide," Daniel said calmly, as if this were a reasonable suggestion. He had already sensed multiple fast-moving signatures approaching from the cliffs.
Before Steve could question that response, warriors appeared along the ridge above the beach.
Amazons.
They moved as one—silent, precise. Bows were raised instantly, arrows drawn and aimed straight at Steve.
"Step away from her!" the leading Amazon commanded sharply. Her armor marked her rank, though Daniel couldn't immediately recall her name. She stood slightly ahead of the others, posture firm.
Diana turned toward them. "Wait—"
"On it," Daniel said lightly.
In the next blink, both he and Steve vanished.
Diana stiffened. The Amazons shifted in brief confusion at the disappearance of the two men, but there was no time to dwell on it.
The boats were almost upon them.
Antiope stepped forward along the cliff edge, eyes sharp.
"Bows," she commanded.
The archers raised in unison.
"Loose."
Arrows streaked downward in a deadly rain. Several struck the leading boat, men collapsing before they even reached shore.
The Germans reacted instantly.
"Incoming!" one shouted as they lifted rifles.
Gunfire cracked across the beach.
Bullets tore into stone and sand as the first boats slammed against the shore. Soldiers jumped out, spreading into formation.
The Amazons did not hesitate. Ropes were thrown over the cliff edge, warriors sliding down in controlled descents.
They landed hard on the sand, shields raised, arrows flying in fluid rhythm. Others took cover behind rocks, loosing precise shots between bursts of gunfire.
Hidden behind a rocky outcrop further down the beach, Daniel and Steve watched.
"They'll lose," Steve muttered under his breath. "Arrows against rifles… that's not a fair fight."
Daniel didn't respond immediately. His gaze remained fixed on the battlefield.
"You might want to hold onto that thought," he said calmly.
More horns sounded from the treeline.
Then the ground trembled.
Mounted Amazons burst onto the beach, horses thundering across the sand.
At their front rode Queen Hippolyta, armor gleaming, blade raised. They crashed into the German line with brutal precision, shields slamming, swords cutting through formation.
The battle shifted instantly.
Steve stared at the chaos. Gunfire roared. Arrows flew. Steel rang against steel.
"Aren't you going to intervene?" he asked sharply, turning to Daniel. "You said you're a god."
Daniel didn't take his eyes off the battlefield. "Have you ever heard the saying, 'God works in mysterious ways'? This is one of those ways."
Steve frowned. From his perspective, Daniel looked less like a god and more like a spectator enjoying a front-row seat.
"Mysterious?" Steve shot back. "They're fighting rifles with arrows."
Daniel's gaze didn't waver.
"Look carefully."
Steve forced himself to focus.
A German bullet tore through the air toward an exposed Amazon—
—and veered just enough to miss her heart.
Another German fired at a rider charging straight toward him. The shot should have taken her down.
It didn't.
The bullet shifted slightly mid-flight and struck sand instead.
"Yes," Daniel said calmly, watching the field. "Some battles don't need a god. They just need a blessing. Now they have mine. Death stops one step short of them… and reaches the Germans early."
At the shore, Diana moved through the fight with relentless precision. She disarmed one soldier with a single strike, then drove her heel into another hard enough to send him crashing into his own men. They fell—and did not rise again.
The German line collapsed.
Steve swallowed. The adrenaline that had carried him through the crash and the first gunshots began to settle, and something colder replaced it.
There was a god standing beside him.
He turned—
Daniel was gone.
Steve blinked.
He was suddenly very aware of the sound of boots on sand.
When he looked up again, he was surrounded.
Amazons formed a tight circle around him, swords and spears leveled at his throat. Their faces were hard, controlled, victorious.
The beach behind them was quiet now. The Germans lay defeated. No Amazons lay dead—only a few tended to minor wounds.
Queen Hippolyta stepped forward, gaze sharp and assessing.
"Who are you?" she demanded.
Steve slowly raised his hands.
"God," he muttered under his breath, glancing around, "I wouldn't mind a helping hand right about now."
There was no answer.
Diana stepped closer, eyes searching the area beyond him.
"Where is your companion?" she asked. "The one with blue eyes."
Steve hesitated.
"Companion?" he repeated weakly.
The circle tightened slightly.
*****
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