The commotion at breakfast naturally caught the attention of the two women.
Thea watched with a spectator attitude, but Diana frowned — she clearly had opinions about Steve's choice of teammate.
After all, ancient Greece valued appearance immensely. Gods and heroes alike were tall, strong, radiant with physical beauty.
Themyscira, deeply shaped by that culture, inherited the same aesthetic.
Steve might have been weak, but his appearance barely passed Diana's standards.
But the Indian companion he brought today…
Barely one meter sixty, dark-skinned, curly-haired, short-bearded, slightly hunched — in no way did he resemble Greek ideals of beauty.
Future Diana — after spending a century in human society — would learn to appreciate all kinds of people.
But this Diana, freshly off the island, wasn't shallow… yet she still felt a twinge of discomfort.
Would this man lower the average attractiveness of their group?
She couldn't help silently blaming Steve again.
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 Indian man's embarrassment.
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 short Indian man 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.