Thanks to the fact that Diana had also been blessed by Artemis — meaning the two of them carried the same divine signature — Thea circled around several blocks before finally locating the pair in a tiny alley, looking exactly like some underground resistance rendezvous.
Enjoying Diana's warm hug for a second, Thea lifted her head with a confused look at Steve.
"You're Captain America, aren't you? Then why are you sneaking around like this in Britain? Don't tell me you're a double agent?"
Steve stayed crouched at the corner, waving her off without replying. His eyes kept sweeping over pedestrians on the main road, like everyone was out to get him.
"Hey… what happened to him?" Thea whispered to Diana. She'd only been gone a few days.
"He seems to have… something going on here."
Diana, now a bit more adjusted to human society and no longer charging straight ahead like before, tapped the side of her head.
pffft—
Thea barely managed to cover her mouth. She was absolutely thrilled inside.
Coward. Spy. And now mentally unstable. With all these labels stacked on him?
Even if Steve Trevor had a hundred points in charm, he wasn't stealing Diana away now.
Perfect. Delightful.
She clapped him on the shoulder with exaggerated cheer. "Come on. Let's go turn in your mission."
But credit where credit was due — Steve actually had decent instincts. He made a quieting gesture, lowered his voice, and muttered, "There's a gunman under that low wall. The guy with the hat…"
Thea followed his line of sight. He wasn't wrong. The man was pretending to read a newspaper, but his gaze kept sweeping the street. Definitely hostile.
Even without divine power, years as an archer and mage meant Thea quickly spotted three more with the same tells.
In the original timeline, the perpetually-tense Diana mistook these three for Ares' agents and nearly went full power on them — even pulled out the Lasso of Truth… all for three small-time goons.
As if Ares would be stupid enough to send a few pistol-waving spies to kill a demigod.
Now armed with the Constantine family's grimoire, Thea's magic was smoother than ever. She tapped Steve's shoulder.
"Alright. Step out there — they won't see you. Go turn in your mission."
"I'm invisible?" Steve stared at his hands. Nothing looked different.
"I lowered your presence. In terms you'd understand, people will automatically ignore you. Just don't do anything extreme and you'll be fine. Obviously… don't kill anyone. Walk ahead, we'll follow."
She didn't bother checking if he understood — just shoved him straight out of the alley.
For an ordinary human like Steve, her strength was way beyond what he could handle. The shove launched him nearly ten meters.
Huh?
Thrown suddenly into the crowd, Steve realized no one noticed him.
Even the tall man who'd looked suspicious earlier was still staring at the alley.
Amazing. He can't even see me?
Steve walked right up to the man. The guy didn't react.
Completely reassured, Steve strode forward with confidence.
Thea and Diana followed at a distance. Thea had rushed back mainly to gauge Ares' true strength — but London could not become a battlefield.
Britain was the main force of the Great War right now; America was still just dipping its toes in the water.
London's streets were crawling with government officials and Allied generals.
If a godly battle erupted here, the timeline would be nuked beyond repair.
Thea's patriotism might only be the size of a sesame seed, but she definitely didn't want to return to 2008 and find every American speaking fluent German…
"Hmm… his taste is interesting… Is that his partner?"
Walking behind, Diana suddenly pointed ahead.
"Huh?"
Thea snapped out of her Ares-related thoughts and looked up.
Sure enough — Steve had walked right up to a short, plump woman. The two were smiling, chatting, even hugging.
Partner? What partner?
That was Steve's secretary. Thea vaguely remembered her as the comic-relief type.
But since Diana misunderstood… might as well let her keep misunderstanding.
Steve, having found his trusted assistant, turned around to introduce her to the two women — only to realize he couldn't see either of them.
Must be that "magic" again. He'd walked right past his own secretary earlier and she hadn't noticed him until they made physical contact.
Now fully convinced magic was real, Steve wished he could squat in a corner and write the biggest I concede in history.
He told his secretary to stay put, then strutted toward the Allied Command building — only to freeze at the entrance.
According to that "witch," he could walk straight in. But then what?
Just tap a general on the shoulder out of nowhere?
Would they shoot him on the spot as a spy?
Britain was the world's first superpower. Shooting an American lieutenant wouldn't cause a ripple.
But he couldn't see Thea. He couldn't turn off the spell.
Panic crept up as he stomped his foot in frustration.
Thea finally spotted him pacing. A ripple of unseen energy washed off him — the spell lifted.
The guards at the door were minding their business when suddenly a full-grown man materialized in front of them stomping the ground.
Two nearly wet themselves.
This assassin was too good!
They raised their rifles instantly.
Steve jumped at their reaction, but his training kicked in. He dodged a rifle butt aimed at his face and quickly flashed his identification.
A U.S. captain? The guards didn't buy it for a second.
A spy this skilled could forge anything.
He could show the Prime Minister's badge and they still wouldn't let him through.
Steve was on the verge of tears, but just then — German spies drew their attention.
The three who'd been watching the alley heard the commotion and, spotting Steve with the guards, exchanged looks, dropped their disguises, and pulled out pistols.
Too late. They were nearly a hundred meters away.
The guards were already on edge — as soon as gunfire rang out, they returned fire instantly.
Chaos exploded across the street.
Thea and Diana were jostled around and automatically popped out of the spell's effect.
Diana watched the firefight and asked uncertainly, "Are those Ares' men?"
"They're Germans. And Germans are… well… the ones who came to Themyscira were Germans."
Thea couldn't be bothered explaining politics.
She'd let Diana sort it out herself later.