"Impossible…"
Dr. Maru stood frozen in disbelief.
How could someone inhale her new toxin like it was a cigarette?
His internal organs should have been liquefied.
Then she noticed—
The diluted gas Leon exhaled brushed past a passing German officer.
The man's face melted instantly, flesh corroding in seconds.
Maru's panic eased.
Yes… that's how it should be…
Wait.
Her eyes snapped back to Leon.
If the gas still worked—
Then what was he?
"You—you—!"
Smash!
Before she could finish, Steve Trevor appeared behind her and smashed a chair over her head.
"What 'you' what?! Never seen a real man inhale poison and live?"
He smoothly slipped in the compliment while preparing to finish her off.
Leon raised a hand.
"Strip her. Thoroughly. Check her mouth and any concealed cavities. Remove every dangerous item."
"I have questions."
"We kill her after."
"Yes, boss."
Steve dragged the unconscious Dr. Maru into a nearby room.
He followed instructions meticulously.
Hidden cyanide capsules—teeth compartments, concealed pockets, even more private hiding places—nothing was overlooked.
By the time he finished, Maru was as harmless as a plucked porcupine.
"Leon! I did it!"
After silently offering thanks to Queen Hippolyta and General Antiope, Diana rushed forward and threw herself into Leon's arms, kissing him passionately.
Leon wrapped one arm around her waist—
—and casually activated Leon's Grip with the other.
Only when Diana sensed both the inappropriateness of the setting and the increasingly dangerous direction of Leon's hands did she break away.
"I thought you were about to take me right here," Leon teased first.
"As if," she replied softly, cheeks flushed.
But she didn't look away.
To her—
This journey beyond Themyscira had been nearly perfect.
Yet sometimes, imperfection carved deeper memories.
To gain something.
To lose it.
And then to reclaim it.
That path left stronger marks than effortless happiness.
Bang—
A gunshot.
Without warning.
Diana saw the bullet's trajectory—
But in her moment of emotional release, she reacted half a beat too slow.
The shot struck Leon in the head.
It exploded.
Crimson and pale fragments sprayed across Diana's dust-streaked face.
Her smile froze.
The world drained of color.
The sky beyond the window seemed to bleed into the room—
Gray.
Cold.
Lifeless.
"No—!!!!!!"
Diana collapsed to her knees, clutching Leon's headless body.
Sir Patrick Morgan appeared soundlessly beside her, leaning on what was no mere cane—
—but a sniper rifle in disguise.
He should have been in London.
"I almost believed he was truly Odin's son," Morgan said lightly.
"When I sensed an aura similar to Father's, I did hesitate."
"For a moment."
He regarded the body at Diana's feet with mild disappointment.
"But it seems he was merely a pretender."
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