[ WP ] Rewrite a story from any mythology but make it into modern times .

Alexis worked for the airforce. 
 
 She was never really a fan of war. It was n't her style. Thankfully, that was n't her job. She opted for something safer. Alexis was a test pilot. 
 
 She was always fascinated with the sky, just like her dad. He would pull out old books and show her antique aircrafts. The Wright Brothers, Leonardo Da Vinci... Masterworks of engineering, failed or not, they all meant progress. Alexis and her father were the vanguards of this progress. 
 
 Her father's new design was revolutionary. A high altitude craft with even higher speeds. Revolutionary, of course, if it worked. 
 
 Alexis donned her helmet and walked to the runway. She knew well how to fly a plane, both her and her dad knew this, but Alexis was n't the type to take chances. She gave her father a hug, an'I love you,' and stepped into the cockpit. 
 
 In-house name'IKARUS.' 
 
 Alexis was n't superstitious either, but it's hard to get over a name like that, especially in this line of work. She trusted her dad, and with good reason - It was n't his fault. 
 
 IKARUS takes off, Alexis in the driver's seat. Alexis had seen a lot of planes, but this one was different. She could n't quite put her finger on it. It made her feel powerful. Alive. 
 
 The jet was at full speed now, and climbing altitude. It's difficult to adjust to the air pressure, but Alexis managed, like she had so many times before. This is the highest she's ever flown, and she was going higher. 
 
 Alexis stopped and leveled out. This is how high she was told to go. 
 
 Looking down, she saw clouds, and further below, land. A lot of land, but mostly sea. In thirty minutes she had flown from the hangar in America to Japan. 
 
 Looking up... 
 
 Alexis had learned not to look up. It's normally boring at best and vertigo-inducing at worst, but she looked up. 
 
 Stars. Stars and the sun and the infinite vastness of space. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. The sky she pined for was below her, and only impossible immaculacy existed above. In that moment, she was entirely transfixed. She tried to justify it. It'd be good to push the limits a little, right? If I just fly a little higher, I could exit the atmosphere. If I report that IKARUS can do that, it would be helpful. It would be incredible. It would be progress. 
 
 She did n't need to justify it. Not to herself. She just wanted an excuse for what she was already committed to. 
 
 IKARUS turned towards what was left of the sky, and rocketed out of the atmosphere. 
 
 Stars. Stars, and the sun, and the infinite vastness of space. So close you could touch it. No, not just touch it. Alexis could *feel* it. Understand it. 
 
 Alexis could n't breathe. This was n't unusual for pilots, but this was different. Alexis closed her eyes, realizing what she had done, and was at peace. 
 
 IKARUS' engines failed. 
 
 Alexis and the craft plummeted down towards the earth, catching fire as they pierced the atmosphere. IKARUS was n't built for this. 
 
 It all happened too fast to recall. Alexis felt only the floating, and then the falling. The cockpit was aflame one moment, and flooded the next. IKARUS - if you could even call it that in the shape it was in, had fallen into the ocean. 
 
 Alexis woke up. She could breathe again. At the foot of her bed stood a Japanese nurse, a man with a clipboard, watching her carefully. All of these things were surprises. But the one contingency she expected, her father was there. 
 
 He explained what had happened. Everyone in the city had heard the crash just outside the harbor, fewer had seen IKARUS' descent, and even fewer could process it. One woman saw Alexis floating on on top of the water, covered in burns, and bruises, and cuts, clearly unconscious. She did n't know what to do, but in a way, she did. The woman jumped in the water and pulled Alexis to shore, immediately calling for an ambulance. Alexis' father was notified shortly after. 
 
 Alexis survived, but barely. Her body broken and bleeding, paralyzed, and in more pain than she thought possible, but none of that mattered to her. She was relieved of her duties. 
 Some who find themselves funny would tell her she flew too close to the sun. 
 
 To them, she'd respond - 
 
 *'' I flew just close enough. `` * 
 
 
 

