Beyond The Impossible

The Vulcan Forge, 2300 light-years from Earth

Noriko Null tries to think of a worse situation, but nothing comes to mind. Strapped to a medical bed, in a steaming hot room, facing Talas Khanos who is picking up a scalpel with his telekinetic powers. To provide even more security, the operation is guarded by a dozen indestructible Talos robots and by Hermes himself.

<Maybe we should sedate her. Cutting open her head while she’s still awake is just too Ares for a gentle soul like me> the god suggests.

<I need her to be conscious to properly connect the Nexus to the God Eraser. You can leave if you have a weak stomach> Khanos offers.

<Nice try, but I’m not dumb enough to leave you alone with her. I studied your work for Demeter, I know what you do to your test subjects…particularly the young and female ones.>

<Did you also study how he betrayed her?> Noriko asks. The hardest part is staying calm: she can’t risk giving in to panic. Or worse, free Abyss from her mind prison.

<Of course, that’s why I hired him! Only a seasoned traitor could’ve been able to con Hephaestus himself to give him, and consequently me, full access to his headquarters.>

<If you’re done, I’m ready to begin the procedure now.>

<Talas, Talas, Talas… I like you, even though you’re creepier than Charon, but you just lack any artistic sense. My sweet Noriko, would you mind hearing the full details of my daring plan? Purely as a gesture of appreciation for our relationship, of course.>

<I have a gesture for you alright, but my hands are tied> she replies defiantly.

<See? I’m really going to miss this beautiful young thing! Oh well, I guess I’ll have to be happy with ruling the entire Olympian Galaxy as the only god left alive. Whenever you want, Talas.>

The Oracle comes closer to her, caressing her body with his finger from her navel to her chin, for no other reason than to fill Noriko with disgust. There’s something deeply unsettling in his smile.

<I’m going to enjoy this. Any last words from the Slayer of Gods?>

<Yes. “I have more than one Neural Transmitter”> she answers.

<What?> both Hermes and Khanos say, right before they collapse at the same time. The God Eraser, just a few feet away from Noriko, has started to hum. It’s just a slow vibration to a human’s hear, but to a god and an Oracle it’s like having a billion knives stuck in their souls.

While they clutch their heads in absolute pain, a Talos quickly approaches Noriko and breaks her restrains. Hermes makes an attempt at grabbing her, but finds himself beaten by two more Talos.

<I had a hunch you’d pull a dirty trick, Hermes. That’s why I built this God Eraser with a remote control; with all your talk about my head and innuendo about my body, you didn’t check for a secondary Transmitter inside my arm. And Khanos, I’ve been incorporating anti-Oracle technology into all my devices since Myridia, did you really think you could still take me by surprise?>

Noriko pushes aside the tray of medical equipment, walking towards the nearest screen with no one to stop her. The God Eraser seems to notice, increasing its output.

<But look at me, I’m gloating like a supervillain. I don’t want you to miss how “the god of tricksters” is having his ass handed to him by “a beautiful young thing”. Can you hear me, Max?>

<Loud and clear> is the telepathic answer from Quantum.

<We’re ready. Take down the entire Talos Collective.>

Noriko Null has made up her mind. Things really couldn’t be worse for Hermes right now.

 

Each Talos is an incredibly complex machine, but even several thousands of them are not enough to cover a considerable portion of the galaxy. That’s why the Hephaestus integrated them into the Collective, an artificial intelligence responsible for the coordination of all his robots.

His mistake was to connect his robotic mistress Galatea to the Collective. Once Quantum took control of her body, he was able to project himself into the computer hosting the Collective software. He can finally transmit the brand new operating system created by Noriko while her captors were preparing her torture.

Vesta doesn’t know any of this. Her Neural Transmitter didn’t survive the landing, and she’s too busy fighting Elytra while simultaneously resisting the unbelievable pressure of a neutron star’s surface. Her situation makes her sluggish, slow enough to allow Elytra to slash her with her indestructible talons. That’s when Quantum reprograms the Talos and it starts raining robots.

Their first objective is to crash into the star at full speed. Their shell is made of neutral matter, tough enough to survive, but the internal components are irreparably damaged.

And of course each impact has a colossal destructive power, so much that the neutron star’s rotation slows down considerably.

Elytra shouldn’t be worried. She’s using a Drylon Ghost Maker, making her intangible and literally untouchable. But beneath her cybernetic implants she’s still a mortal: when she attacks Vesta again, she’s distracted by the chaos surrounding their position.

Vesta seizes the opportunity. She grabs Elytra’s hand for the split second it remains tangible and flies away from the star. The Ghost Maker is the only thing that keeps Elytra alive: instead of ripping the hand from her body, Vesta is able to drag her to the only place protected from the robot rain: the Vulcan Forge itself.

At first Elytra doesn’t understand what’s going on. When she comes to her senses, she’s lying on the floor in front of Vesta. The red haired goddess is naked, perfectly healed, and her eyes are burning far hotter than the star’s core when she says:

<I’m going to ask you ONCE. Stay. Down.>

Elytra is still sane enough to surrender.

 

The wall protects the Vulcan Forge from the robot rain, since naturally it’s made of neutral matter, but the incessant bombardment is shaking the entire building.

Hermes is slowly adjusting to the torture caused by the God Eraser; when he’s finally able to stand up, leaning on the medical bed, he finds himself facing Noriko.

<Let’s talk> she says. He towers above her, but she looks more threatening than him now.

<Can you even guess how many ways I have to kill you right now?> he asks. He’s dropped his charming persona: for once, he might be telling the truth.

<What would that accomplish? There’s no way Hephaestus won’t figure out what you did. That leads to the other gods finding out that you have violated the terms established by Themis and her tribunal. I don’t know everything about the laws of the gods, I admit, but I bet they won’t like it.>

<What do you propose?>

<The Lampyrians. Can you cure them? Extend their lifespan?>

<Why do you even care? You know two of them, and one tried to kill your friends> he asks.

<Just answer the damn question, Hermes.>

<A short life is in the Lampyrian DNA. To make them live as long a human you would have to rebuild their genetic code from scratch, which is a little over my lever of expertise. Fortunately, I had the best geneticists of the galaxy working on this for centuries> he reveals, showing to Noriko a small vial of bright blue fluid.

<It would’ve taken at least another three hundred years to synthesize this without Talas Khanos. He’s a creepy manipulative bastard but he’s pretty damn smart. Almost as much as you are.>

<I sincerely doubt it> Noriko comments, taking the vial into her own hands.

<Not so fast, sunshine. Where’s my reward for this little gift?>

<A chance to leave right now> she answers, turning down the God Eraser. Hermes is initially confused, but then he starts laughing.

<Why would I leave? I still have you and the weapon I wanted! How are you going to stop me now?>

<<She is not the one who is about to kill you>> says a thunderous voice behind Hermes.

When he turns he can see Hephaestus in his neutral matter armor, next to a woman with green hair.

<What’s up, bit##es. Guess who’s about to take over the fu##ing galaxy>  Persephone says.

 

Hermes is the most confused witness of the new arrival, asking:

<You guys work together now? Don’t you two hate each other’s guts?>

<<Hephaestus is much more interested in hearing why you have invaded his house>> the god of technology asks him. In his pure white armor, he towers above his divine siblings; when he walks towards the five feet tall Noriko, she looks like a small child compared to him.

<<And this is the mortal messiah Hephaestus has heard so much about. How could such a frail infant have murdered Demeter? She’s not even fit to clean after Dionysus>>

<Nice to meet you too> Noriko replies defiantly, even though she recognizes that the god is terrifying. Even if he’s wearing the armor, the heat from Hephaestus is almost unbearable. Hermes doesn’t seem to have a problem with it, approaching his step-brother and patting him on the back.

<Always a pleasure to see you, but aren’t you supposed to be on Eleusis today? That’s over 2000 light-years from here. That’s an awful lot of space to cross in less than a day. For anyone who isn’t me, of course.>

<You can thank your a##hole Oracle for that, s##thead> Persephone answers, pointing her finger at Talas Khanos… who seems to have recovered from the effect of the God Eraser’s anti-Oracle field.

-“Pretty damn smart”, remember? Your words, not mine – he boasts.

<<Your treacherous Oracle has provided Hephaestus not only with a Drylon device that can transport matter on a universal scale, but with minions that can operate it>>

<The Many. Your idea, Persephone? I thought you hated your mother’s lackeys> Hermes recalls.

<I don’t give a sh## about the Old C##t’s stuff. But this God Fu##er here… that gets my attention.>

<So we have the same plan, right? Dissect Noriko, connect her brain to the God Eraser and kill every other god in the galaxy. There’s no reason to argue> Hermes says.

<I disagree> someone comments, before Noriko has the chance to say exactly the same thing.

Vesta has arrived, carrying with her the deactivated body of Galatea. Quantum is right by her side, together with both Elytra and Lysia.

<<Hestia?>> – Hephaestus asks, visibly more concerned by Vesta’s presence than by the sight of the lifeless body of his robotic mistress.

<This is getting a little too crowded for my taste> Hermes says. Normally he would be on the other side of the galaxy at the end of the sentence, but instead he’s immobilized by a green energy field.

<Not so fast, s##thead. I seem to remember that in order to get Myridia, you had to swear secrecy to the location of Earth.>

<And we can all agree you’re an expert on swearing> Hermes jokes. The energy field seems to be enough to keep him confined in a single place, something he’s not accustomed to. He’s also not accustomed to Persephone making a logical argument.

<I also remember the oath extended to your subjects. You should’ve thought of that before employing an a##hole like Talas Khanos, s##thead, because he told me everything about Earth.>

<Khanos, you idiot! Do you realize what you did!?> Noriko protests.

<Don’t blame me, you’re the one who made the deal with the God of Lies. Since Hermes broke the deal, ownership of Earth must be passed to Persephone> Khanos explains.

<Which means I legally own your a##, Little B##ch. And more importantly, your brain.>

<Since when do you care about divine law?> Vesta asks.

<<Hestia does have a point. Let our step-brother be the first to fall before my weapon>>

<What do you mean “your” weapon?> Noriko asks.

<What do mean “fall”?> Vesta asks.

<Yes, let’s see what you mean, sucker> Persephone answers, blasting the God Eraser with her energy. The device explodes into a million pieces. This act took everyone by surprise… Hephaestus, Hermes and Null included. Each of them had an idea about Persephone’s plan… and they were all wrong.

<Okay now I’m confused. Who is on whose side now?> Quantum asks.