Beyond The Impossible

The White House

The President of the United States is used to being waken up in the middle of the night; it’s part of his job. But believing what his Chief of Staff is telling him is much harder.

<What do you mean “disappeared”?> he asks.

<Just that, mister President. Null Tower simply vanished, leaving only a hole in the ground. From what we’ve been able to tell, there was an overload in its plasma reactor.>

<My God. Was Null herself inside the Tower?>

<We don’t know yet. She was last seen at a party several hours earlier.>

<How many people were inside?>

<We don’t know exactly, but we believe that less than six people live there…most floors house laboratories and offices, all of which were closed at the time of the disappearance. So far there seems to be no damage to the rest of the city.>

The President doesn’t know how to react to the news…the girl was a constant source of headaches, but she also single-handedly rescued the country’s economy. If she really disappeared, there is no way to predict the consequences. Especially since the Empire of Shadows is still out there.

<Get me General Anderson. We need to assume the worst.>

 

New York City

While the most powerful man in the world worries about her safety, Noriko Null is throwing up in a dirty alley. Not that she’d ever think of herself that way: Abyss is still firmly inhabiting her body.

Her superhuman brain may not be affected by alcohol, but her body didn’t appreciate a whole bottle of whiskey on an empty stomach.

<Everything okay?> someone asks her.

She turns around as quickly as possible, drawing her Genius Gun and pointing it at the stranger’s face. He’s a Hispanic guy, a few years older than her, but she doesn’t recognize him.

<Do I fu##in’ look okay to you!?>– she growls, her voice inhumanly deep.

<Actually no, you look like s##t. Would you mind putting that thing down?> the guy asks, keeping his distance and looking nervously at the gun.

<I don’t recognize your face. How come I don’t recognize your face!?>

<I don’t know! I’ve never seen you before!>

<You don’t understand, I am Abyss. I am… I am… s##t> she says, wiping blood from under her nose. It doesn’t really help: she keeps bleeding.

<You don’t look well. Why don’t you put the gun down> he adds, taking a step forward.

<Don’t you fu##ing move or… or I… f##k…> she struggles to say before collapsing.

 

Null Tower, 47^th floor

Bob Null finally manages to put his pants on; it’s a lot harder than it sounds when gravity disappears. Everything in his bedroom is floating at random, including the naked woman holding his arm as tightly as humanly possible.

<What’s going on!?> she asks.

<For the last time, Tiffany, I have no idea! The phone is off, the door is locked and there’s metal blinds over the windows. Just stay calm, I’m sure it’s nothing.>

A bright red blade slices through the door, causing Tiffany to scream at the top of her lungs.

<See? Nothing to worry about> Bob tries to calm her.

Using the sword like a crowbar, a man with red skin is able to open the steel door. He plants the sword on the floor, using it as an anchor. He looks at Bob with a blank expression, then glances at Tiffany and raises an eyebrow.

<Is she an invader?> he asks.

<No, this is Tiffany from the grocery store. Tiffany, Torn. Torn, Tiffany.>

<Hello?> she says timidly, trying to cover herself with a blanket.

<Good. We might need groceries; follow me.>

Torn turns his back on them, walking away; before every step he creates a sword to hold on to, and leaves them behind him for the couple to follow.

<There’s no way I’m following that creepy guy!> Tiffany complains.

<You prefer to stay? Come on, let’s find your clothes and see what’s going on.>

 

The living room is a little more crowded. The holographic eye representing the interface to IRIS, the building’s supercomputer, is the only thing standing in place. Quantum is floating around, as are a few duplicates of Kari. The sofa has been impaled to the floor by one of Torn’s swords, and Todd Slate is holding onto it while trying to keep a laptop on his knees.

<I found some people> Torn anticipates.

<Oh my God you’re the Vanguard! I’m, like, your biggest fan!> Tiffany exclaims.

<She has groceries> Torn specifies.

<I’m not going to ask what she’s doing here. Is there anyone else in the Tower?> Todd asks.

<NO OTHER LIFESIGNS DETECTED> IRIS answers.

<What about Vesta?> Bob asks.

<She’s outside. There’s some kind of forcefield around the building that keeps me from leaving> Quantum explains.

<What happened?> Tiffany asks, leaving Bob’s arm to float towards Quantum; the African-American superhero notices, but is in no mood to flirt with her and explains:

<Someone called Abyss recreated the Negative Drive to send us somewhere. The building is completely isolated; luckily Noriko was paranoid enough to make the Tower completely self-sufficient for at least…yes, I can hear you. IRIS, can you put Vesta on speaker?>

 

Vesta stands on the giant metal Ø symbol built on top of Null Tower. She’s glad to have volunteered: it’s far too cold for human life and there is no atmosphere.

The building is floating in the middle of nowhere, surrounded only by void…and electricity. It’s like being inside a gigantic plasma lamp: tendrils of electricity twist and turn, as far as the eye can see. Some of them are small, jumping between Vesta’s fingers, others in the distance seem bigger than the entire Earth.

<Guys? Remember when Noriko said that the Negative Drive was powered by another dimension?>

<Oh crap. Don’t tell me…> Kari answers though the Neural Transmitter.

<Yes. We’re stranded in the Null Zone.>

 

New York

Abyss wakes up with a massive migraine. It’s not just hangover: she can feel Noriko scratching from inside her brain, trying to regain control of her body. Trying to break free like a caged animal.

Even when Abyss opens her eyes, she can’t see. She’s still coming to her senses; only now she realizes she’s blindfolded. She tries to say something, but she’s also gagged.

Primal instincts easily take precedence over her supernatural mind; to avoid panic, her mind coldly analyses the situation. She’s tied up. To a chair? No, too soft. It’s a bed. They tied her up to a bed.

They took her boots and her jacket. Along with her belt, the Genius Gun, the N-Phone and the N-Watch. She doesn’t have a single piece of technology on her.

She could turn the Neural Transmitter back on, but it’s dangerous. She can’t be certain that the Nullbots were successful in recreating and activating the Negative Drive.

Trying to break free is useless. She doesn’t have any leverage, she’s weak and tired. So she screams, as loud as she can, which isn’t easy thanks to the gag.

Eventually, someone reacts. They open the door. A woman says:

<S##t, she’s awake. Alejandro! Come over here, she’s awake!>

The woman tries to keep her steady, but Abyss keeps agitating and kicking.

<Calm down! We’re not gonna hurt you, calm down!!! Alejandro!!!>

<I’m here, I’m here! Jesus Christ, Maria, what did you do to her!?> a man asks; even in her panic, Abyss recognizes his voice. He’s the boy she met in the alley.

<I didn’t do anything! She just went crazy!>

<Listen, miss Null, we’re not gonna hurt you, okay? We just want HOLY F##K!!!> the boy exclaims, at the same time when the girl screams, when they both see black electricity enveloping Abyss. The sunlight from the windows is blocked by dark clouds that appeared out of nowhere.

<F##k! What do we do now!?> the girl asks. There is terror in her voice.

<I don’t know!!! >

<F##k this, I’m gonna cut her lose> the girl decides, approaching Abyss. She manages to cut the rope that ties her hands to the bed. It’s the last thing she can do before being punched in the face.

The boy watches Abyss move faster than a human should: she steals the knife from the girl, cuts the rope holding her legs, and grabs the girl’s hair to make her lose her balance.

When the boy looks away to reach for his gun, Abyss slams the girl’s face against the nearest wall.

Before he can aim the weapon, Abyss grabs his wrist pressing the right nerve to cause the most pain. As he screams and lets the gun fall, she presses the knife against his throat…ready to cut it.

She dramatically takes off her gag and her blindfold, revealing pitch black eyes with no sclera.

<Do. NOT. Call me. Null. AGAIN.>

<You fu##in’ bit##!!!> the girl complains, while the boy doesn’t even dare to breathe.

<Don’t call me that either. I am Abyss. Who are you two losers supposed to be?>

<I’m…I’m Alejandro. She’s my sister Maria…please don’t kill me, we weren’t going to hurt you, I swear!!!>

<What makes you think I care?>

<This> Maria answers, pressing the gun on the back of Noriko’s skull <Hurt my brother and I’ll blow your brains out.>

<I like you guys> Abyss admits, freeing the boy <Let me guess: you thought someone was gonna pay a ransom for me?>

<Something like that> Alejandro admits; his sister is still keeping the gun pointed at Abyss.

<Cute. Suicidal, but cute. Where’s my stuff?>

<We’re not giving you back your weapons> Maria clarifies.

<You do realize that I can order an orbital strike to vaporize the entire neighborhood, right?>

<With you still inside?> Alejandro asks.

<You’re smarter than you look, but…fu##…> she says, losing her balance.

Alajandro grabs her before she hits the floor, and even Maria expresses some concern despite keeping the gun pointed at Abyss.

<We should take her to a hospital or something. Look at her!>

<I’m fine. I’m just trying to prevent my head from exploding> Abyss justifies herself, pushing Alejandro away. As she watches the two siblings, there’s a red sparkle in her eyes.

<You want to make money? Fine. I just had an idea…>

 

The edge of the Solar System

Artemis dislikes flying under her own power, but she has little choice: she lost her mothership, the Hunters rebelled against her, and she would gladly die before asking a favor from Hermes.

Traveling faster than light is exhausting, despite the rage that gives her the strength to continue her journey. Then she feels something.

Her body suddenly refuses to move faster than light. It’s like running against a wall, except every single atom feels enough pressure to destroy anything. Except a goddess.

“No wonder nobody has ever found Null’s planet…any spaceship trying to approach it without slowing down would’ve been disintegrated” she realizes.

But Artemis is not interested in the complex history of this solar system’s isolation. She has only one objective: kill Hephaestus. And she needs Null to do it…whether the girl wants it or not.