Ares no longer holds the will of good men under his power. Diana, struggling to balance the intensity of strengths she did not know she possessed with the disorientation suffered from the final battle, sought out a sign, any sign, that by slaying the God of War she had fulfilled her destiny; had freed mankind from the influence of corruption; and had ended what Steve had called 'The War to end all Wars'. Through the first rays of sunlight glinting off the piles of rubble strewn across the airfield; the remnants of buildings destroyed, lives lost, and the armored war machine that Ares had tempted her to use as a weapon of murder, Diana could see the forms of soldiers who had dropped their guns, abandoned their fortifications, and stood, as her, in wonder and confusion. While the fighting had ended and the humanity of understanding and compassion rejected the horrors of madness and enmity, in her shock Diana could not confront the truth of her loss. Her thoughts returned to the moments, only minutes past yet heavy as though time had ceased, as Steve told her his final words; words she struggled to hear; her attempt to bear his burden even as she bore the fate of mankind:
"Diana, I have to go, I have to go."
"What are you saying? Whatever it is I can do it, let me do it."
"This has to be me. I can save today; you can save the world."
"What are you saying?"
"I love you."
Though only among the world of men a few short days, Diana had found one man that brought to her life a joy, an understanding, and a completeness she had never before known. The stories of mankind told to her by her teachers and mother; of their selfishness and greed and cruelty; she had seen with her own eyes to be true; but she had also witnessed friendship and empathy and sacrifice. The magnitude that Diana had found awakened in herself; the power that allowed her, through Ares' absence of or even his ability to understand the potential of good; to overcome the God of War in his final defeat:
"It is futile to think you can win. Give up, Diana. Finally you see mankind did this, not me. Just like your Captain Trevor, gone and left you nothing. Pathetic."
"You're wrong about them. They're everything you say they are, but so much more."
"They don't deserve your protection."
Above flew the massive German attack plane. With every second it moved higher and higher, further away from those below – from Diana – even as she struggled to keep Steve in her thoughts, Steve in her life. Until it suddenly disappeared in a flash of explosion, leaving nothing but a shower of slowly fading embers.
"It's not about deserve, it's about what you believe. And I believe in love."
"Goodbye, brother."
Despite his unbalanced rage, Diana realized Ares was right. Right that Steve was gone, and left her alone. Right that the sacrifice of another had once again saved her, just as Antiope had given her life, far away on that sunlit day when she stepped between Diana and a German bullet. Right in that no matter what Diana embodied; no matter what actions she took toward the good of mankind; how devotedly she believed; or even in discovering the depths of her love – she was powerless to determine the choices of any individual.
"Inside every one of them is darkness and light; a choice each of them must choose for themselves – that no hero can take from them."
As he fought the German bomber to gain altitude as quickly as possible – the largest, and most difficult plane he had ever flown – Steve Trevor thought back on his actions.
"Not exactly my life flashing before my eyes, but I guess there's not much of a life to look back on."
It had only been these past few months when he believed he had done anything worthwhile; a purpose, a mission, that drove him past his earlier – could he even say, younger failings – or maybe he had only recognized the poor choices of a largely wasted life. Only a few days before had he found Diana; or rather, Diana had found him; and Steve began to feel once again what he thought he had put far behind him; feelings he thought he'd lost: The chance; the risk; of opening himself to another. Something he promised himself he would never do again.
If only they had more time. But war is not about time. War is about abandoning time as loss and confusion and hopelessness and morals and pain and hunger and death and...everything, merges into a fog that some men can never escape. It's ironic that even as he wished for more time, Steve realized the single remembrance he had left Diana was his watch. A watch that would continue to mark the time they would never have together. That could only remind her, whenever she looked at it, not of what they had but what they lost. What a gift. At least he had the chance to tell her how he felt.
Behind him sat thousands of pounds of bombs, each loaded with some ungodly chemical concoction designed by Isabel Maru to result in the greatest suffering and death possible. Glancing back, Steve focused on the primitive timer attached to one of the bomb racks and, just as Sami had said, the mechanism was set to detonate at any moment. Steve couldn't take the risk of a miscalculation, either by himself or whomever had set the apparatus. Besides, he'd always believed in holding his own fate in his own hands. Better to trigger the explosion than wait for the inevitable. "There's no risk if you know what you're getting into." Thinking back, he remembered the times he'd lived by that motto. And how well had that worked out for him? He drew his pistol and searched his mind for the happy thoughts he wanted to he his last. Of his mother...; of Madeline...; of James...; or even the sweetest thoughts of all, those of Keri. But those were memories too difficult to resolve in the last seconds of life. Better to recall what needed no reconciliation...Of Charlie singing, then drinking, then fighting, then singing some more. Of the first time he met Sami, who tried to sell him a motorcycle he didn't own. Of Chief, a man who should have nothing but always seemed to be able to come up with anything. Of Diana. Steve smiled. Diana. He turned, aimed his Colt, closed his eyes, silently breathed three short words, and fired. There was no explosion.
At first he thought the situation had become even worse. Not only was he riding a bomber full of deadly chemicals, but due to a malfunction in the timer or the detonator or even his own pistol, now the situation was completely out of his control. Maybe the bombs would only detonate upon impact, meaning he would have to pilot a crash so violent the resulting fire would ensure destruction of the chemicals; and in an area secluded enough to be clear of any city or village or encampment that would be affected. Or if a faulty timer did randomly activate, triggering only a portion of the bombs – all it would take is one - in mid-air, he would certainly be killed by either the detonation or the gas, leaving the remainder to tumble to earth creating a field of death that would extend for miles. No, this was not a good situation at all. But as Steve hunted for options, he noticed a small greyish object that appeared to be hanging in mid air between himself and the bomb load. Or rather, whatever it was wasn't hanging as much as slowly moving in a straight line from his position in the pilot seat, toward the bombs. And that sound – almost like a rush of escaping air – had he aimed so poorly he'd shot a hole in the side of the plane? No, it was more a gentle whistling, almost bird-like sound. Something like the measured 'who-whoing' of an owl.
"Maybe I've already copped it..." and he was already dead, or dying, and these illusions were how his mind was trying to remain connected to the world. He'd seen others struggling for life in the same way. Others who in their final moments had begun to talk with loved ones, or seen long-dead family members appear from nowhere to accompany them on their final journey. But nothing Steve had experienced had prepared him for the woman who stood before him now. A woman clothed in a gown of gleaming white, spear in hand, who was herself surrounded by a lustrous glow that not only illuminated her face and body in brilliant silver, but affirmed the focus of her unsettling blue-grey eyes even as it brightened the interior of the airplane as if it were spotlighted from the inside.
"Are you an...angel?"
"I am Athena, daughter of Zeus, she who guides those who seek wisdom, protects those who fight for a just cause, and from me springs the courage of true love. I have recognized your sacrifice and seen the love in your heart for Diana, daughter of Hippolyta, as well as her love for you."
"Uh,...ok..."
"You are to come with me."
As Steve reached to take the outstretched hand of the goddess; and in the split-second before the German airplane faded around him, Steve saw the bullet, which had progressed slowly but evenly toward the explosives, strike its target causing a violent, although leisurely, detonation of the bomb-load and bomber; taking the floor out from under him but finding it quickly replaced with a surface of finely-veined, polished white marble under a brilliant blue sky.
"Welcome, Steve Trevor, to the home of the Gods. You will remain here until Hermes takes you to the Underworld to be judged."
