Beyond The Impossible

Growing up, almost everything Max Black learned about Greek mythology came from comic books. One of the exceptions was the Odyssey, being adapted in so much popular culture that even he learned nearly everything about it; still, now that he’s facing the actual Circe the Sorceress, he wish he’d paid a lot more attention.

<So what’s the deal with the transformations? How do you do it?> he asks her, changing his body to move at the speed of light several feet away from her.

<What do you mean? I’m a goddess> Circe answers, pointing at him: her hand is glowing with some kind of energy, but he’s way too fast for her reflexes.

<Yeah, I know, but magic doesn’t exist right? It’s all mind over matter stuff.>

<Like a mortal would ever understand what magic is> she says, grumbling as she tries to cast another spell on his current location. By the time she realizes she missed again, Quantum is already hitting her in the form of a lightning bolt.

<Stand still> she orders, conjuring up a metal rod in her hand: the electricity is naturally drawn to it, and when Quantum tries to slip away or to change into a different type of energy he finds himself trapped. She smiles as she tightens her grip on the electrical storm she’s holding in her hand.

<Interesting power, but I can smell the Drylon technology in your electrons: it’s a trick, and nothing more. Compared to me, you’re still an animal> she insults him.

She opens her hand, allowing Quantum’s form to break free; the electricity flows into a single cohesive mass, which shrinks into the size of a pig… then immediately becomes humanoid again.

<How did you…> she wonders, doubling her efforts to twist the electricity into a dog. The effect lasts for less than a second: when Quantum returns to flesh and blood, he’s still a man.

<Come on, reassembling my atoms is the first thing I learned to do when I got my powers, you really thought that trick would work on me?> he taunts her, launching a laser beam from his finger.

Circe swats it away like an extremely annoying fly, and her body suddenly starts to glow.

<You’re not the only one who knows how to do that> Circe says, transforming into a beam of pure electricity shooting straight at Quantum.

From the perspective of the audience, what follows is a blinding flash of light: the center of the arena is engulfed in a dome of pure whiteness.

<What just happened!?> Lily asks, shielding her eyes with her wing.

<Thoth must be shielding us> Noriko realizes, peeking at her N-Phone to check the results of its internal sensors. She can’t believe what the data is telling her.

<The amount of gamma radiation inside the shield is staggering: a blast like that would’ve annihilated a city. Thoth must also have dimmed it, or the brightness would’ve burned our retinas.>

<He transformed into radiation?> Kari asks.

<Not directly. He turned himself into positrons to counter her electrons… what we’re seeing is the total annihilation between particle and anti-particle> she explains.

<Then what happened to Max!?> Lily wonders, waiting for the fighting stage to become visible again. When the invisible shield disappears, there’s a thick black smoke arising from the crater inside it… and at its center, the bodies of Quantum and Circe.

<Double elimination. Both contestants are…> Thoth starts to declare, but stops when Quantum begins to move. The human rises slowly, clearly having trouble keeping his balance but otherwise completely unharmed while the goddess at his feet is immobile. And he gives a thumbs up.

<Correction. Circe is no longer able to fight. The winner is Quantum, Hero of Earth.>

Most of the audience is either rejoiced at the result or indifferent, but there is a very loud exception.

<That was f##king awful!!! Stop wasting time, I want a real battle!!!> Persephone shouts.

<I have to agree with my foul-mouthed half-sister; the first matches have been somewhat… unsatisfactory> Hermes comments.

<Tyche probably wants to stack the first few rounds with weaker fighters, to gauge the strength of the real players> Noriko hypothesizes.

<The next contestant has been chosen by Inanna. Null, the Slayer of Gods, may approach the arena.>

<I mean, comparatively weaker fighters> Noriko corrects herself, standing up.

All eyes are on her as she approaches the arena. Even Isis, who by the looks of it showed up only out of her sense of duty, seems to start paying attention from the Egyptian stands.

<Pick me! Pick me! I’ve been waiting to fight that little b##ch for ages!> Persephone shouts.

<Does she ever shut up?> Hera complains.

<She will> Enyo answers, itching for a fight.

But she’s not the one to approach the arena: it’s two other gods, who just came out of one of the temples. One is a mountain of a man, wearing a heavy armor full of spikes that doesn’t leave anything exposed except green eyes as bright as torches. Next to him is a woman, with the figure of a goddess but wearing a somber military outfit that could’ve been worn by a 19^th century general, complete with red epaulets. She’s nearly as tall as the man wearing the armor, with very long blond hair and red eyes burning with power.

<Hera’s chosen representative has been selected. Deimos, God of Terror, may approach the arena.>

<Gladly. How did you foresee I would be selected now, sister?> the god asks.

<Retribution is near. Avenge our brother, Deimos> she answers, keeping her composure as she watches Deimos walks towards the fight. Then she turns towards the divine audience, and she stands at attention while looking straight at Hera.

<My Queen. I have been ordered by my father Ares to represent Him during this tournament.>

<Your services are not required or appreciated, Adrestia> Hera comments with disdain.

<Perhaps your forget that I am not just one of my father’s generals, my Queen. I am also the goddess of revolt, revenge and retribution> Adrestia calmly explains, sitting down facing once again the arena. Stiff and emotionless, no other god seems willing to get near her.

<And believe me, there will be much retribution at this tournament> she prophesizes.

Noriko hasn’t recognized the young goddess, but she has a good excuse: Deimos is approaching her, and next to him she seems miniscule. And yet, they both stand at the shadow of the far more imposing Thoth, who recites:

<Now declare the prize you wish to claim in this tournament. Deimos?>

<I wish for the death of this impudent mortal.>

<How original> Noriko derides him.

<Null, what is your wish?> Thoth asks; this time, there’s a glimpse of curiosity in his words. And he’s not the only one: pretty much the entire arena is waiting for her wish.

<Let’s start small. I wish for the death of the Ice Queen> she declares, leaving half the audience relieved and the other half surprised.

<She can’t be serious!> Vesta exclaims; after all, the Ice Queen is Noriko’s mother Leiko.

<She’s not. Look at the other gods> Ulysses tells her. Vesta takes a good look at her own family.

<I don’t see anything. They don’t seem interested> she admits.

<She doesn’t want to reveal her real wish just yet> Voron explains, earning a nod from Ulysses.

<Yes. Remember, the only wish that counts is the one at the end of the tournament. If she survives this fight, perhaps she’ll give us a clue> the Greek hero speculates.

<What do you mean “if”!?> Vesta asks.

<The stakes are decided, until defeat or death. Null versus Deimos. FIGHT!!!>

Noriko is the first one to act: she draws both Genius Guns and points them at Deimos. She doesn’t take her eyes off him, but when she blinks before pulling the triggers he vanishes. She turns around, expecting to find him behind her, but much to her surprise Deimos didn’t try to ambush her.

<Okay. That’s a new one> she admits, activating the holographic interface of her N-Phone to show her a detailed map of the arena, from infrared to ultraviolet. Deimos isn’t showing up anywhere.

<Sooo… did he forfeit? Did I win or what?> she asks Thoth.

<You killed my twin brother Phobos> she hears Deimos say; his voice isn’t coming from any place in particular, but seemingly from every direction.

<Not entirely on purpose. Although he probably deserved it… he was kind of an a##hole.>

<He was the God of Fear: together, we brought entire worlds to despair. What you did to him, little girl, you shall suffer a thousandfold.>

<Well, joke’s on you, I can only die once. What’s your strategy, anyway, boring me to death? Or are you afraid of a little girl?>

<My brother was fear. I. Am. Terror.>

Suddenly a wall emerges from the ground, blocking Noriko’s way. When she looks the other way, trying to find Deimos, she sees another one… and it’s not just an ordinary wall: she’s next to her own bed, inside Null Tower.

<No way he teleported me back to Earth. Must be some kind of illusion> she deduces, touching the wall… as far as she can tell, it’s real.

<Alright. If that’s how you wanna play, Deimos> she says, leaving her room to walk towards the Operation Center. She finds it exactly as she’d expect, but empty. And deadly silent.

<Okay, you can do creepy. Are you done wasting time, or can we do business?> she taunts him.

It seems to do the trick: the door to the room opens, revealing one of her Nullbots. It walks slowly towards her, followed by a couple dozen who are crowding the hallway.

<Seriously? I built those, I can tear them apart> she boasts, raising her Genius Guns… which disappear into thin air just before the Nullbots start to run towards her.

<Right. Of course you won’t play fair> she realizes. Her silver eyes glow as she calculates every possible variable… there are only so many ways a single robot can move, especially since such a crowd doesn’t have much space to maneuver. She takes advantage of their slow reflexes and her shortness, sliding beneath the legs of the Nullbots; when they try to catch her, several of them end up tripping over each other. She targets the most isolated one and jumps on its back; the Nullbot reacts by walking back, crushing her between the robot’s back and the wall. The pain is incredibly realistic, but she doesn’t let it distract her: the thumb from her left prosthetic hand retracts its fake skin, revealing something that looks like a micro USB plug. It’s hard to notice thanks to their metallic black skin, but all Nullbots have a port at the base of their neck: Noriko connects her thumb to the interface.

<Sleep> she orders, and the command is instantly transmitted to all robots: like puppets with their strings removed, they immediately drop to the floor.

<Well? Now what?> she asks, disconnecting from the robot just in time to see a metal arm crash through the wall and grabbing her human arm. A very imposing figure entirely covered in metal pulls her closer: behind the helmet, his eyes are pure raging fire. His voice is heavily distorted, an electronic growl inside an erupting volcano.

<HOW BRAVE ARE YOU, WITHOUT YOUR TECHNOLOGY AND ALLIES?>

<Hephaestus? You think I’m afraid of Hephaestus, Deimos? Come on, I didn’t even need to use the God Eraser to kill him! You’ll have to do better than…> she mocks him, stopping only when “Hephaestus” pins her against another wall. It knocks the wind out of her, but she’s still conscious.

<Yep. Just as I expected: you’re not gonna kill me> she tells him, still short on breath.

<I CAN CRUSH PLANETS WITH MY HANDS. YOU ARE LESS THAN AN ANT TO ME!>

<If that were true, I’d be dead by now. Which proves we’re inside my head, which means you can win only if I let you… and let me tell you, Deimos, that ain’t gonna happen.>

<We shall see> the voice of Deimos replies, accompanied by the scream of a woman and the cry of a baby. Noriko’s heart misses a beat when she sees that he’s dragging along her father and Doctor Kalama. He’s followed by the Ice Queen… who is holding in her hands a crying Nalani.

<Leave them out of this> Noriko protests, trying to break free. Unfortunately, the illusion of Hephaestus seems to be just as strong as the real one.

<Why so upset? If this is just an illusion, you should not care> Deimos says, twisting her father’s arm so hard she can clearly hear the bones snap. Then he does the same with Doctor Kalama, holding both of them in front of Noriko as they scream.

<Don’t do this> Noriko pleads, closing her eyes. Hephaestus slams her on the floor, getting on her back: not only she can feel his weight on her spine, but his scalding hot hands reach for her skull forcing her to keep her eyes open. She can only watch as Deimos very slowly and very graphically removes her father’s head from his body.

<Don’t make me do this. Please> Noriko pleads, her words almost drowned by the screams of the Doctor and the cry of Nalani as the baby is frozen alive by the Ice Queen.

<I won’t allow you to forget this moment, Null. You won’t be able to close your eyes without seeing the death of your family. I will find your pitiful planet and force you to watch as I murder every single man, woman and child in front of your eyes. Only then you will realize what is the real meaning of…>

<Heheh.>

It’s a very short laughter, almost impossible to hear under the screams, but it stops Deimos.

<Have you gone mad already, mortal?>

<You were going to say “terror”, right? I’m sorry, but… that’s just hilarious!>

Hephaestus releases his hold on Noriko, then gets off her back. Deimos is not pleased by this.

<What are you doing!? You’re my creation! You must obey me!>

<You come inside MY head, Deimos, and expect YOU to be in charge?> Noriko asks, slowly rising from the ground. Hephaestus disappears, followed by the hostages and the Ice Queen. Once Noriko Null is standing up, Deimos is alone with her.

<You really have no idea who you’re dealing with, do you?> Noriko asks. Something happens to the light: everything is red now. And Deimos takes a step back.

<You’re… you’re just a mortal! I am the God of Terror!>

<Not in my eyes. Not in here. We’re inside my mind, Deimos. Here… I am YOUR terror> Noriko boasts, closing her eyes. When she opens them again, Deimos is afraid for the first time in ages.

<I am Abyss. Welcome to your nightmare.>