Supergirl's arrival only deepened Hermes' confusion. The girl had absolutely no divine power—that much was certain. Although Hermes' current strength had deteriorated drastically, his past heights ensured his perception remained sharp.
No divine power, true enough. But this woman was far too strong. Surging, roiling energy flowed through her body, and her physical structure approached absolute perfection. Moreover, her flight speed was extraordinarily fast—even at his peak, Hermes might not have been much faster than her.
Could this woman be the culprit who would cause his demise in the future? Hermes felt certain this entire plan had gone wrong from the very beginning. One mishap after another kept piling up.
Thea paid no attention to his scheming, speaking quietly with Diana instead.
"Whatever lies ahead, we have the power to crush through it. First, let's return to Themyscira."
Learning they were going to Diana's homeland, Supergirl was beside herself with excitement. When she heard they might encounter enemies, she grew even happier—Fiora had already awakened the Kryptonian battle instinct in her bloodline. She kept clenching her fists in anticipation.
This display made Hermes' heart sink even further. He didn't know about Kryptonians. All he could think was: Were modern mortals all this powerful now? Where's the fear of the divine that they're supposed to have?
He had to continue his deception, maintaining the role of loyal servant. With righteous indignation, he thumped his chest and guaranteed he would watch over Zola and the child in her belly without leaving their side for even a moment.
Supergirl had discovered the child with her X-ray vision by accident. Hermes, who'd been planning to keep the pregnancy as his trump card, was beyond words. If he didn't have only a year left to live, he'd have retreated to the divine realm to play dead right then and there.
Compared to Diana and Thea—both at least demigods—and Thea possibly carrying Zeus' bloodline in Hermes' eyes, who was Kara Danvers? In his perception, she showed zero divine energy. Yet this "ordinary person's" performance was simply too impressive!
Feeling like anything he said or did would expose him, Hermes started trying to fade into the background. Unfortunately, Thea had healed his injuries, making it impossible to act convincing. If Diana weren't so worried about Themyscira's situation, she might have actually noticed something was wrong.
However, Thea had no intention of exposing him now. Killing him would gain her nothing—the god was dirt poor, nothing but rags on his back. Only his staff was worth anything: a teleportation rod that could ignore space and time. But that item was too closely bound to him, similar to Diana's protective silver bracelets—almost like a soul-bound item. Thea gave it a brief glance and stopped paying attention.
Decades ago, Diana had returned to the island once, but the conversation with Hippolyta clearly hadn't gone well. Most likely there was some command like "Don't return to the island except for major emergencies." Now, whether or not the island faced a crisis, she had a legitimate reason to go back.
With Thea at her side, there was no need to trek back on foot. The two women pressed their foreheads together as Diana transmitted a complex set of coordinates to Thea.
These coordinates were extremely intricate. As a pure warrior, Diana couldn't understand them herself, and she couldn't help but admire her mother's foresight.
Thea's thoughts ran along similar lines. She'd asked about Themyscira once, long ago. When Diana had been evasive, Thea knew Hippolyta had taken precautions against her—issuing a gag order ahead of time.
That old woman still treated Thea as an outsider. All that talk about being "one of the Amazons" was hollow. If not for the fact that she was Diana's mother, Thea would have felt nothing at all.
Hermes, busy playing invisible, noticed Supergirl's large eyes staring at him. He forced an awkward smile.
"Are you an alien?" Supergirl pointed at the bird talons where Hermes' feet should have been.
Poor ancient god—how would he know anything about Earthlings versus aliens? His normally sharp mind was complete mush right now. He couldn't admit to it, but he couldn't deny it either. All he could do was smile foolishly in response.
Something's clearly off about him. Supergirl wrinkled her cute brow, studying him with confusion. She looked at him with some sympathy and patted his shoulder encouragingly.
So much strength! Supergirl's power control was far inferior to Superman's. Those two pats nearly gave Hermes internal injuries. He decided he couldn't stay with this group any longer. He had to leave—now.
He pulled out his staff, ready to volunteer his services.
But before he could say a word, he watched Thea swiftly and elegantly draw a pinpoint teleportation circle right there on the spot. With Diana's coordinates in hand, and both locations on Earth, she quickly completed the portal. After a brief inspection, she stepped through.
Supergirl had already witnessed Thea teleport many times. She strode confidently through the portal as well.
"Hurry up!" Diana called to the remaining two before entering.
Zola had no idea where they were taking her or what role she played in all this. But Thea, Diana, and Supergirl all seemed kind. Compared to Hermes' beggar-like appearance, the three women seemed more trustworthy. She mimicked their movements and passed through the teleportation gate.
Hermes wanted to cry but had no tears. What kind of situation is this? He could tell Diana didn't take him seriously at all, and by extension wouldn't trust him either. Still, he had to keep playing this role. He seethed inwardly: You'll regret this soon enough!
Wiping the vicious expression from his face, he resumed his weakling act and followed through the portal.
The moment he passed through, he heard his potential mortal enemy—Supergirl—exclaiming loudly about how warm this beach was, how beautiful that mountain looked, and so on.
Diana beamed at the praise. Who doesn't love hearing compliments about their homeland? Already fond of Supergirl, she now explained things to her in even greater detail—how she'd climbed that mountain as a child, how Antiope had trained her in combat on this beach years ago. They weren't even far from where Steve Trevor had crash-landed all those years back. Diana gave a brief account of that great battle.
However, after about ten minutes, she gradually fell silent, exchanging a glance with Thea.
"Mother should know I've returned to the island. Why haven't they appeared yet?"
Thea was equally puzzled. "The anti-magic barrier here is still functioning. My super vision doesn't work, and Kara's probably won't either. Let's search with our eyes."
The three of them immediately took flight, each scanning a different direction.
Kara, whose luck had always been decent, spotted the target first. "Southwest, near the coast—there are many people there."
Diana's heart filled with worry. Without time to notify the two bystanders on the ground, she flew ahead.
"Keep up." Thea waved to the two on the ground and chased after Kara.
"...Um, can you fly?" Zola asked nervously, her worldview already in tatters. She looked at Hermes with uncertainty. She still had no idea why she'd been brought here, only knowing that the fanatical Superman copycat had glanced at her belly and declared her pregnant. Was that even possible?!
She felt nothing herself. How had that woman in the blue bodysuit and red cape figured it out?