Lightning flashed, like a flare amid the ominous black clouds. Thunder roared overheads, rolling over, but the storm everlasting. A dark field stretched beneath the sky, once golden and lush, was now dismal and gray without the light of the sun. A single figure staggered through the grass.
Her eyes wild with desperation, her body tense with fear, but not for herself. For the little life living within her. The only source of her love and joy, amidst the pain and sorrow haunting her spouse's departure.
Her belly curved gently like a soft hillside, her arms wrapped protectively like the strong roots of an oak. But there were no oaks here, only the endless grass and dirt and sky. The rain drenched her garments, plastering the cloth to her slender frame.
Lightning flashed down to the ground, with a crack of thunder. No delay between lightning and thunder, no distance, no time. The woman stumbled forwards, her feet squelching and slipping in the rising water and swirling mud.
Another flash illuminated the dark sky, and the prickling scent of ozone filled the air. The woman let out a piercing cry of agony and shock. Bright white light seared her body, hotter than an open flame, but only for an instant, a split second.
The woman slumped to the ground in unconsciousness. Her breathing rapid and shallow as her face sunk deeper into the earth. The strike had jolted her heart, and the steady pulsing died away with one last ta-thump. He body slipping deeper into nothing, her mind blank and disconnected from her body, her baby dying.
The woman's hand twitched once, before slumping to never move again. The baby within her screamed in agony as slowly the incubator shut down, sapping warmth, food, shelter.
The storm rumbled as it slowly departed, leaving its two victims lying in the grass, one dead, one alive. A flicker of lightning ignited within the clouds, with a soft rumble thunder following a few seconds after.
The clinking of armor creaked around the desolate yard. An unfamiliar, wild sound amid the harshness of nature.
Three women, dressed in full battle gear armed with spears filed in, their spiked boots silent on the mud. They glared up at the storm, as if they could stab it, "Lord Zeus," one spoke in an accented tone, "What is the meaning of striking a maiden?"
The thunder rolled in ascent.
The woman that spoke bowed, "Very well my lord," she replied dryly, as if the storm had spoken to her, "Take the maiden, we will help her." She ordered her comrades.
The two other woman sheathed their spears and trotted over to the dead woman and dragged her by the elbows to where the first woman still stood.
"She is dead," one said frostily, "I feel no pulse."
"Pump her chest," the first woman replied.
The other woman shook her head, "Too late," she said, "Soul is far too gone."
"Zeus!" the woman growled, raising her spear angrily, "Why? Why send us here to help one that has already perished?"
The thunder boomed in response, and the woman lowered her weapon bitterly.
"What does the lord say?" the woman that had remained silent asked tentatively.
"She is gone," the woman said, "But not all of her is gone yet. Feel the bulge."
The two women gave each other bewildered glances before dipping their heads. One woman held the limp woman firm while the other pressed her hand gently to the cold stomach. She gasped, "The child lives!"
The second woman's eyes widened as she too felt the belly, "It is true!"
"Zeus has spoken, we will take the child and raise it as our own, we must return to the Themyscira at once," the woman ordered, shaking water from her blonde hair.
"Yes Queen Hippolyta," the two women bowed simultaneously.
"Go on without me, the child needs to be released if it is to survive, I must ask Lord Zeus something," Hippolyta ordered.
"Your majesty," one of the women began hesitantly, "What if the child is a man?"
Hippolyta's eyes darkened, "We'd better hope not," she replied simply, "Or we would need to… dispose of him. I pray it shall be a woman."
The woman nodded, "We will leave now," she said, hefting the woman's arms.
Hippolyta waved her hands and the two woman along with the dead one vanished onto the breeze.
"Lord Zeus," Hippolyta's eyes returned to the storm, "Why did you send us here? We rarely interfere with mortal affairs, what is special about this child? What is the future the child brings?"
The thunder rumbled in reply, and Hippolyta frowned in disappointment as she pursed her lips, "I understand. Knowing too much of the future is never a good thing."
Lightning flashed once more within the clouds.
"Of course we'll take care of the child," Hippolyta said, "Like our own."
There was no reply from the storm, as the dark clouds slowly swirled away in the wind. Zeus was gone, and Hippolyta was alone once more.
"Take me back my lord," Hippolyta knelt, "Take me home."
And with her final words, Hippolyta vaporized and drifted away, back towards Paradise Island.