Asgard Station, Null Zone
The hologram shows the two Keys of Heaven: not much larger than regular house keys, but even the most advanced scanners have trouble identifying just how much technology they contain.
<It’s really quite something, isn’t it?> Dmitry Voron asks as he enters the room, looking at the diagrams; he might be the second smartest human alive, but he has absolutely no clue about even a tenth of the data he’s looking at.
Noriko Null is standing in front of the screen; she’s not physically interacting with the controls, but a direct neural link gives her mind complete control over the computer systems.
<The Lar had a head start of hundreds of millions of years over me, but I finally managed to understand how this works thanks to the data I stole from the Amazons. Look at this.> she says, and the hologram changes shape to show intricate circuitry that extends outside the keys themselves.
<The Keys are five-dimensional objects. No wonder their circuitry didn’t seem to make any sense, I was just looking at a fraction of the real deal.> she says.
<So they work like your Portal Generator? Transporting matter to a parallel dimension and then moving it to another position?> Voron hypothesizes.
<Nothing that simple: to move entire planets they would need a literally astronomical amount of energy, and the Keys aren’t that powerful on their own. First they nullify the mass of the target, folding it into itself by exploiting the empty space between atoms; with the target now weightless, they then create a wormhole to move it to the desired location and switch the mass back on.>
<So basically the same thing I said but with a bunch of extra steps.> he comments.
<I’m simplifying it quite a bit.>
<Meaning you’re dumbing it down for me.>
<Dmitry…> she rolls her eyes: this is not an argument she wants to hear again.
<I can accept that this technology breaks the rules of physics as I understand them, Noriko. What I can’t fathom is why we are wasting time on this when Ares is about to attack Earth.>
<As long as Leral’s time distortion field is active, time is not a factor.> she points out.
<You know what I mean. You’ve never hesitated going into action against a god, so why are you here playing with Lar technology instead of fighting Ares?>
<You’re gonna hate me for this.> Noriko admits, looking down to avoid his gaze.
<You wouldn’t have asked your ex-boyfriend to be here without a good reason. And as much as you love to show off how smart you are…>
<I don’t!> she protests.
He doesn’t even have to answer to that.
<Okay, maybe just a little.> she admits a few seconds later.
<I’m here because you want a second opinion, isn’t it? So tell me: why aren’t you killing Ares?>
<Because I can’t.>
<Don’t bulls##t me, Noriko. You’re the Slayer of Gods.>
<I have more experience than anyone else when it comes to killing gods, Dmitry. Based on that and on the information about Ares I’ve gathered… none of my usual options are available.>
<I find that quite hard to believe, Noriko.>
<Really? Ares is too powerful for a God Eraser. Throwing him into a black hole is not an option, considering he went toe-to-toe with Apollo; even teleporting him is out of the question, if the Amazon studies on him are correct. And I tend to trust the Amazons on technical stuff.> she explains, pointing at the hologram of the Keys of Heaven as evidence.
<But you’ve killed other gods of his caliber before!>
<Every Class-2 god that I’ve killed required both the Final Abyss and my golden eyes. And doing that kind of attack in my condition…>
<It would kill you?>
<Yes. I’ve done the math and there’s no question about it: even Asclepius wasn’t able to undo the damage to my cells. But… that doesn’t mean I’m willing to give up, not by a long shot.> she points out, moving towards the holograms: they begin to change shape, with the circuitry shifting in a new configuration.
<There used to be a single Key of Heaven. The Lar split it into three separate pieces, meaning that the Keys are designed to be highly customizable. I’m missing the third and final Key, yes, but by combining my own technology with the two Keys that I have and some Amazon science, I believe that I have the means to create something better.>
<A weapon?>
<An Ares-killing weapon. This will be the most advanced piece of technology that I’ve ever built; even the Portal Generator or the Ragnarok’s Negative Drive will look like child’s play.>
<That sounds sensible enough. Why did you say that this would make me hate you?>
<Because it makes me hate myself. It will take months to complete this project, and even with the time distortion field at maximum, it’ll be more than a day in the regular universe.>
<That’s not too bad, isn’t it?>
<It’s that ruthless calculus again. If I attack Ares right now and I die, there will be nobody else to take care of the next threat. If I take the time to prepare, no matter how much I minimize it…>
<People will die.> Dmitry nods.
<People are already dead by now. Anything anyone else throws at Ares, even the Vanguard, is just there to buy me a little more time; it’s not a boast, it’s a fact. The second I activated that field, Dmitry, I sentenced people to die because I’m demonstrably more important than them. I’ll carry that weight on my conscience for the rest of my life, but I’m not going to apologize for it.>
<And you knew that I would call you out on that.>
<You’re a good person and a great scientist, Dmitry: just because I’m smarter than you doesn’t mean that I don’t need your help. But if you don’t want to spend months helping an a##hole working on a weapon of mass destruction, I’m not gonna stop you from leaving.>
She doesn’t wait for an answer, going back towards the computer. She works at it alone for a few minutes, until he puts a hand on her shoulder.
<If you think you can dumb it down enough for me.> he tells her.
Null Tower, New York City
Dr. Catherine Kalama was skeptical when Torn and his wife asked her to take care of their daughter Lesion during their absence, but despite the typical Demon quirks the girl has shown herself to be far more social than her taciturn father.
She’s currently playing with the young Nalani, with the three year old being supremely impressed by Lesion’s ability to arm her dolls with tiny Blood weapons.
<These aren’t sharp, right?> Catherine asks her.
<No, sorry, they’re not. I can’t make them sharp when they’re so small. I can make her a sword though!> Lesion replies, creating a child-sized energy sword in her hands.
<Sword! Sword!> Nalani exclaims excitedly.
<No! No sword!> her mother chides her.
<Maybe a dagger?> Lesion says, changing the weapon to a much smaller version.
<No blades of any kind, please.>
<I can hold the blade for her.> the Demon girl insists.
<Absolutely not! She’s too young to handle any kind of real weapon.>
<But mommy, Nori plays with guns all the time!>
<Your sister is a full grown adult, Nalani. Even if she doesn’t always act like it.> Catherine comments, adding the second sentence at a lower tone… Noriko is like a daughter to her, but as a patient she can be immensely frustrating.
<Just be grateful she’s not throwing her dolls out of the window; I could never get Noriko to play with that stuff when she was Nalani’s age. Come on, let the girls play how they like.> Bob Null intervenes, having confined himself to just watch his youngest daughter befriend the alien.
<You’re one to talk when it comes to acting like a WHAT THE!?> Catherine yells, instinctively reaching for Nalani when three robots teleport into the room.
<Apologies, Dr. Kalama, we are-> one of the faceless robots begins to explain, interrupted by Lesion throwing a dagger right through his head.
<Yay! A fight!> Nalani claps, appreciating the spectacle.
Lesion is ready to throw a dagger at the second robot, but Bob stops her:
<Wait, these are Nullbots. Did Noriko send you?>
<Please prepare for teleportation within five seconds.>
<Care to explain what’s going on?> Catherine asks.
<Haven Protocol is in effect.> the robot says, and once it’s done all the people present vanish.
Max Black’s apartment
If being Noriko Null’s friend was complicated, being in a relationship with Quantum has proven harder than Jane Blake imagined. She didn’t have a problem with him frequently leaving home at any hour of the day to deal with whatever emergency, but he’s been off-planet more and more frequently in the past year. And living for six months on Myridia during a civil war while he was stuck in time really changed her perspective on what’s important in her life.
She’s just reflecting on her life choices while taking a shower, when she’s distracted by the bright flash of light that floods her bathroom.
<Jane Blake, you are requested to…> the Nullbot say.
<AAAHHH!!!> Jane screams, throwing a bottle of shampoo at the robot through the shower curtain. The robot continues:
<…follow me to a secure location in compliance with…>
<Get away from me!!!> Jane shouts as she throws the conditioner as well.
<Apologies for the inconvenience.> the robot says, shooting a fast-acting narcotic from its fingertips. Jane loses consciousness in an instant, and the robot catches her.
A quick scan reveals that she’s unharmed. The robots takes her in its arms to get her out of the shower; it hesitates as a sub-routine checks the girl’s current situation.
<Modesty mode engaged.> it says, and two holographic black boxes appear to cover what Jane really wouldn’t want to show to a stranger.
<Target acquired. Haven Protocol is in effect.> the robot concludes, teleporting away.
Tokyo, Japan
Shinobu Tanaka is a busy man. The public knows him as the sole heir of the powerful Tanaka family, and even that would be enough to occupy his time. But as Black Knight of the now defunct Empire of Shadows, he’s also trying to convert the Yakuza from a criminal organization to a more profitable business. Or what’s left of the Yakuza after he and Hermes slaughtered its leaders.
He’s looking down at the city from the luxurious attic of his penthouse when a robot teleports behind him:
<Shinobu Tanaka, you are requested to ~~~~~> the root begins to explain, suddenly silenced when Shinobu’s dagger penetrates the Nullbot’s neck.
<I expected my cousin to remember that Hermes gave me access to advanced weaponry.>
<She did.> a second Nullbot tells him, teleporting behind him and preparing to sedate him.
<Alright. What’s going on?> Shinobu asks, removing the blade from the first robot.
<You must follow me. Haven Protocol is in effect.>
<Ah. I didn’t think she would include me in the list of friends and family to be transported off-planet in case she believes Earth is in serious danger of being destroyed.>
<You… know about Haven Protocol? I was not programmed to anticipate this.>
<Of course you weren’t: Null believes she knows everything. And she typically does, but let’s hope that she’s wrong about Earth this time.> Shinobu comments, approaching the undamaged Nullbot and crossing his arms.
<Let’s go. I’ve always wanted to visit another world.> he says as he’s being teleported.
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