Beyond The Impossible

The Ice Dimension, Heaven

Reality is thin here, almost as rarefied as the oxygen. The Ice Empress sits on her throne, overseeing a valley filled with monstrous minions kneeling before her in adoration.

When a portal opens up among them, the monsters are not given the chance to react: a nuclear explosion takes out a significant number of them, something the Ice Empress doesn’t care for.

<You dare to invade my realm?> she says, raising her hand. The gauntlet of her Winter Armor glows, and the advancing mushroom cloud is literally frozen in place.

The radioactive particles trapped inside the newly formed ice transform into light, forming a laser that slices through it and shoots straight for the Ice Empress.

She’s not faster than light, but her armor is able to block the attack.

<Fool! Have you forgotten that my Winter Armor is made of indestructible Neutral Matter?>

The laser transforms back into Quantum, who finds himself facing his enemy.

<Yeah, but to be fair, you wouldn’t believe the crazy day I’ve had.> he admits.

<Then be thankful it will be your last, Captain Quantum!> she replies, readying her armor to trap him in a block of ice… except nothing happens.

<Actually, he’s just Quantum. And newsflash: you’re not exactly real.>

The Ice Empress recognizes the woman who just talked as Doctor Null, but she’s not the only other person to walk out of the portal. There’s also a Japanese woman in her forties shivering in clothes that were not meant for a frozen wasteland.

<Is it safe here?> Leiko asks, looking around. Quantum may have re-absorbed all the radiation he unleashed, but they are still surrounded by monsters that look a mixture between trolls and abominable snowmen.

<Absolutely. According to Quantum, these things are mindless without her commands and I’m using a Sound Nullifier to prevent her words from reaching them. Also I devised a way to disable the Winter Armor in the real world, so it wasn’t that hard to build a device that does the same.> Noriko Null explains, holding the makeshift device in her hands.

<Good thing the superhero persona I dreamed up for you in my version of Heaven is just as smart as the real deal.> Quantum says.

<Although with questionable wardrobe choices.> Noriko adds, adjusting her green trenchcoat to make sure it’s not revealing too much of her uncomfortably skintight grey costume.

<And this… thing is the real version of me?> Leiko asks, staring at the Ice Empress.

<Have care of what you say to me, human! You stand in front of the-> the Empress begins to monologue, but her words vanish when the Sound Nullifier is properly adjusted.

<No, she’s just like you: a re-imagining of your actual self, as seen through the lens of another person, imbued with a fraction of the real Leiko’s soul thanks to her connection to the Heart Of The Universe.>

<You know, the crazy thing is that this isn’t even the most absurd thing I’ve heard her explain.> Quantum confides in Leiko.

<Can you awaken her, like you did with me?> she asks.

<Let’s see. Soul Resonance!!!> Noriko yells; her body and the Ice Empress are soon intertwined by chain lightning, but it only results in both falling to their knees recoiling from the attempt.

The armored monster loses consciousness, while Quantum helps his friend stand up again.

<I’m guessing it didn’t work?>

<I sense there’s something in there, but not enough to truly be sentient. If we are to reform the real Leiko, which I’m sure is the only way out of Heaven, we must stitch together all her fragments.>

<You can do that?> Leiko asks.

<No, I have no clue on how to even attempt something like that. We need Torn.>

<That’s easy, I have a portal to his world in the Fortress of Midgard.> Quantum proposes.

<No, that would be the version of Torn in your imaginary superhero reality. We need the real Torn, he must be in his own section of Heaven.>

<Alright, let’s do that. There can’t too many Demons in Heaven, right?>

<I should be able to establish a connection through the Blood… except I don’t seem to be able to use the Blood at all in your world. I don’t think it even exists here.>

<My bad. That stuff still doesn’t make any sense to me, no matter how many times Torn has tried to explain it. Which, in my defense, usually consists in two sentences with five words each. At most.>

<You’re the only one who can move to other sections of Heaven. Try bringing us anywhere: if the Blood connection works there, I’ll contact Torn.> Noriko suggests, handing the Heart Of The Universe back to him.

<Sure, fine, but… the Vanguard are not the only people stuck in Heaven now, right? We could pop up in Roxiana’s part, or even worse… Leiko’s ideal word.> he says, shivering at the thought.

<It’s a risk, to be sure. Just, I don’t know, try to avoid any nightmarish destinations or something.>

<I thought you wanted to go to Hell.>

<That would be ideal.>

<Wait, we’re not actually going to Hell right?> Leiko asks.

<Relax, it’s just a name. It’s not literally Hell.> Noriko reassures her.

<I mean, it kind of is though.> Quantum objects.

<Max… not the moment.> Noriko chastises him.

Quantum holds the Heart in his hands, concentrating. He can feel its own energies mixing with his own; if this were reality he shouldn’t be able to use it, but reality bends to his wishes in Heaven.

<You know Nori, if you hadn’t showed up, I’d be having my dream superhero life.>

<And I’d still be a rock star with huge knockers, we all made sacrifices here.>

<Wait, what?>

The Heart Of The Universe pulses, and the foundations of Heaven shake a little more.

 

Myridia, Heaven

There’s no mistaking this planet for another one: from the six suns engaged in a complicated dance throughout the day, to the frequency with which the same faces repeat over and over in a crowd.

<Well, I guess Kari’s dream is to be back on her planet. She probably misses the fashion.> Quantum remarks, now that his superhero costume has been replaced by a red exomis, a one-shoulder tunic.

<She would.> Noriko acknowledges, with disdain for the green peplos dress she’s now wearing.

<At least it’s warmer here. But what happened to the other me?> Leiko wonders, in a similar blue dress. The Ice Empress is nowhere to be seen, but there is a woman who looks and dresses exactly like her lying on the street, except her skin is grey like a Lar.

<Where am I? What have you done to me?> she asks, looking at her own hands.

<Great, she’s back and I don’t even have a Sound Nullifier to shut her up. The Myridians can build spaceships, you would think they’d come up with clothes that have freaking pockets!> Noriko complains, moving to the sidewalk to get away from the crowd… as much as anyone can on Myridia… and checking to see if she has any technology on her person.

She doesn’t.

<This offense will not go unpunished, humans. Return me to my realm at once or I…>

<Is the real me this rude and annoying?> Leiko complains.

<No, she’s worse. She can actually back up her threats, unlike this one.> Noriko answers.

<Arrogant wench! I shall…>

<Hey guys, what’s up. New friend of yours?> Kari Zel asks.

She’s not too different from the one they know. Except her purple hair is shoulder-length and she looks about seven months pregnant.

The former Ice Empress doesn’t care about that: she’s quick to grab Kari’s arm and twist it behind her back, holding it in a painful position.

<I have been patient enough! Return me to the Ice Dimension: this is your last warning!>

<I don’t do warnings.> Kari replies: two duplicates of herself appear, one in front of the Ice Empress to punch her in the face and one behind her to kick her knee, forcing her to bend in the perfect position for the original one to land a kick that knocks her out.

She wouldn’t normally be able to use her powers while pregnant in the real universe, but in Heaven she makes the rules.

 

The Zel household

Noriko and Max have been to Kari’s house in Myridia several times, and although it’s spacious enough it’s not the literal mansion that she owns in Heaven.

It’s not a desire for wealth, but a necessity to accommodate her family. In addition to her real life three daughters, Kari’s ideal life also includes two younger sons that she didn’t find time to have while serving in the Vanguard. In addition to that and her husband Kiros, the same household includes her mentor Old Man Vor and her still alive parents.

Quantum is staring at the picture of the old couple hanging on the wall, while Kari is sitting on her couch drinking from a cup of kykeon opposite of Noriko and Leiko.

The Ice Empress, tied up and gagged, steams in her anger in the garden while Kari’s children play around her.

<So if I understand this correctly. You’re not really the Noriko I know, but you’re from a different reality that is somehow more real than my own? Is that it?>

<That’s the gist of it. I would give you back your memories, but it looks like I overdid it lately… it’s taken a toll on my soul.>

<Hm. You’re sounding like Torn, only with more words.>

<Speaking of Torn. If we could talk to him, I mean the version of him in your world, perhaps he could help us find the real one.>

<And if I don’t?>

<I would find a ship taking me to Earth; I assume its location compared to Myridia stayed the same in your part of Heaven. Or if he’s in Hell, I could build another Portal Generator: I’m having some trouble accessing the Nexus, but I feel I have all my brainpower here.>

<Let’s say I do this. What would happen to me?>

<You’d have to follow, of course.>

<Why? I have a pretty good life here.>

<Kari, you don’t have your full mental faculties now, but…>

<Maybe she doesn’t. But I do.>

The interruption comes by a person Noriko wasn’t eager to meet… another Noriko Null, looking and sounding precisely like her. Considering all her interactions with evil alternate personalities and psychotic clones, Noriko doesn’t have the best experience dealing with doppelgangers.

<As crazy as it sounds, honey, you should follow her.> this new Noriko says, approaching Kari to give her a kiss on the mouth.

<Whoa! What’s going on here!?> the real Noriko exclaims.

<And me without a camera.> Quantum smirks.

<What? She’s one of my girlfriends.> Kari replies.

<That’s wrong on so many levels: I’m your friend, I’m your boss, and I’m straight!>

<And I’m two out of those three. I guess Kari’s growing up in a society with a near universal incidence of bisexuality influenced her desires when she created me.> this other Noriko says.

<Wait, you… know you’re not real?> Quantum says.

<Of course I know. I am Null.> the doppelganger boasts.

<Can we go back to the fact that I’m supposed to leave my own reality?> Kari asks.

<It’s just logic. Nothing created in Heaven can leave Heaven, and staying means you will be destabilized like the rest of it.> the doppelganger answers.

<What do you mean by destabilized?> the real Noriko asks her.

<Have you checked the universal fine-structure constant lately? Unlike your universe, Heaven is anisotropic: it has different properties in different directions.>

<I know what the word “anisotropic” means.> Noriko indignantly comments, wondering if she sounds that condescending to other people.

<When idle, Heaven is an isotropic state: it’s homogenous. Add one mind shaping it, and it restructures itself in an anisotropic way to follow a single person’s desires. It can handle multiple people, all at once, even with multiple facets and contradictory wishes… but my instruments detected something Heaven doesn’t like.>

<Us hopping between different parts of Heaven.> Noriko deduces.

<Can you two dumb it down for someone who doesn’t have an IQ in triple digits?> Quantum asks.

<All those pockets of reality have different properties, even different physical laws. Heaven can handle the stress by separating them, but crossing through the sections causes them to deteriorate. Keep doing this, and Heaven will either crumble…> the doppelganger starts to explain.

<… or revert to an isotropic state, wiping out anything inside it. Including us.> Noriko finishes.

<So what? We should just find a part of Heaven that’s good enough and stay there?> Leiko asks.

<Not necessarily. We might be able to patch up Heaven to keep up.> Noriko answers.

<Uhm, I thought even the Drylon weren’t able to really use Heaven? How are you going to control it, let alone improve it?> Quantum wonders.

<You forget: they didn’t have two Noriko Nulls.> the doppelganger boasts.