Null Tower, Midgard City, Antarctica, Earth
Noriko Null had just moved back to her New York City skyscraper shortly before it was destroyed by Medusa, so all of her personal effects are no longer here.
The Operations Room that serves as a command center for the Vanguard is still active though, so her team wasn’t particularly surprised to be called here.
When the light from the teleportation fades though, they are surprised to see that Noriko is sitting right next to a Roxiana who is no longer a statue… and to her right, there’s a peregrine falcon perched on the chair.
<What’s with the bird?> Quantum asks.
<Lord Horus. It’s been a long time.> Vesta greets the bird god, bowing respectfully.
<For a lesser god’s understand of time, maybe. Who are you again?> the bird asks.
<Horus, this is Vesta, sister to Zeus. You might know her as Hestia.> Noriko explains.
<I do not. I can’t be expected to remember all Greek gods; they spawn like rabbits.>
<How charming.> Kari comments, taking her seat.
Torn, as usual, has nothing to say.
<Alright, now that your personal audience has gathered, can we now start discussing something useful?> Roxiana asks, putting her feet on the table and leaning back against her chair.
<Don’t make me regret saving your life.> Noriko tells her, gesturing to sitting normally.
<I didn’t need saving. I have the Absolute Defense.> Roxiana points out, making sure to have the bracelet on her wrist be as visible as possible.
<Didn’t seem so absolute. It didn’t stop Medusa from turning you to stone.> Quantum recalls.
<Of course it didn’t. Her life was not in danger.> Horus comments.
<You know about the Absolute Defense?> Noriko asks.
<I am a god.> Horus simply answers.
<That’s not a guarantee of knowing everything.> Kari can’t help herself snarking.
<You mortals presume to know how Drylon technology works? Please explain what little concepts you grasped. Unlike most of my pantheon, I do enjoy a good laugh.> Horus says.
<Birds can’t laugh.> Torn points out.
<A regular genius, this one.> Horus says, moving his head to scratch his feathers with his beak.
<The Absolute Defense locks on the quantum state of its user and it entangles their body with the Cosmic Background Network, which is itself connected to the fine structure of the universe. Any possible damage to the user is reverted to the previously locked state.> Noriko quickly explains.
<Uh. So you are almost intelligent. I may understand my fellow gods fascination with your kind.>
<And with only very limited access to the device for direct study. Impressive indeed.> Roxiana congratulates her successor.
<It should have protected the user from anything. What am I missing?> Noriko asks.
<Intent. The device protects the user from any damage, but it is not constantly active. If it were constantly resetting the quantum state, the user would not even be able to experience the passage of time. Instead, the device activates when a threat is registered, something that it failed to do.>
<Being turned into stone is not a threat?> Roxiana asks.
<You were not in any imminent danger. Stones feel no pain.> Horus points out.
<This gives me an idea. My analysis shows that whatever Medusa turns into stone is transmuted down to the atomic level; and if that is correct…> Noriko says, standing up and approaching Roxiana to analyze the bracelet.
To everyone’s surprise, she’s able to unlock it and take it off her wrist.
<How did… give it BACK!!!> Roxiana yells, moving forward to attack Noriko but stopping when a couple of Aether daggers suddenly appear in front of her throat.
<Don’t.> is all Torn needs to say.
<When your body was turned to stone, the Absolute Defense stopped reading you as a host.> Noriko explains, examining the bracelet more closely.
<Are you going to use it on yourself?> Horus asks.
<I already have a Drylon device inside my head, and a person can only use one of those at a time. Unless that’s something someone more than “almost intelligent” can debunk?>
<I was trying to see if you knew that.> Horus answers. Noriko wonders if he was truly testing or if he’s more clueless about the Drylon than he’s willing to admit. She doesn’t press this point.
<Besides, it’s off right now, it needs to be activated first. It does, however, give me an idea on how to possibly defeat Medusa for good.> she says, her silver eyes shining.
<That I would be most curious to hear.> Horus admits.
<I bet you do. The question is, what are you doing here?>
<I am assisting you in stopping a potential threat to…>
<You want revenge on Skorpios for killing your mother Isis, I get that. And I get that you’re scared to go at it alone, because you are not as powerful as she was.> Noriko says.
<I am not! As the son of Osiris, I am the rightful heir to his throne!> the god protests.
<Isis would not have allowed her sister Nephthys to rule over her own galaxy, or her son Anubis to succeed her, if she had a direct heir of equal power.> Vesta observes.
<That’s messed up.> Kari comments.
<I’m not saying that I approve the Egyptian ways. But they are more obsessed over protocol than my pantheon ever was.>
<Bold claims by a deity who is yet to rid herself of the curse of a very minor goddess.>
<We’re getting off-track here, Horus. I understood why you wanted my help from the moment you showed up. The question is, what do you bring to this potential alliance?> Noriko asks.
<I am a god.>
<Everyone in this room has kicked a god’s butt. Godliness just doesn’t cut it anymore.>
<You need me. I can negate the powers of any other god. Observe.> Horus says, turning towards Vesta. The bird god’s eyes shine for a moment, after which Vesta’s skin is transmuted from stone back into flesh… for a couple of seconds, before it reverts back.
<A cheap trick. Vesta can probably learn to cure herself on her own, and even if she doesn’t, once we kill Medusa the effects of her transmutation will vanish on their own.> Noriko says.
<I don’t…> Vesta begins to object, but she’s stopped by a message sent by Quantum that only she hears through her Soul Relay:
“Just go with it, she’s doing a thing.”
<Except Medusa can’t die permanently. That’s her whole thing.> Roxiana says.
<Also, both Vesta and Roxiana stayed in stone form even if everyone else already returned to normal.> Kari adds.
<You people know a lot more about Drylon technology than divine powers. Medusa’s ability to turn matter to stone wasn’t affected by her death. But she couldn’t prettify gods or bypass the protection of a Drylon device on its own: she needed a power boost for those.> Horus explains.
<The eyes of Prometheus.> Noriko nods.
<The dead don’t use their eyes: when Medusa dies, she can’t use the eyes of Prometheus to boost her own power. Trust an Egyptian to know a thing or two about death.>
<If you are such an expert on divine powers, how is she exploiting the eyes?> Noriko asks.
<Prometheus could see the future. See through time. Medusa’s power relies on sight: with the eyes of Prometheus, her petrifying sight can reach beyond three dimensions.>
<That might just be the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard.> Noriko comments.
<This would not work with any other god. But Medusa is the only goddess I know who has the ability to die and regenerate herself: regenerating the eyes merged together two fundamentally different powers. Don’t think less of yourself from figuring this out, I am the universal authority on divine powers and even I could not have anticipated this. You should instead think less of yourself because you are, after all, still just a mortal.>
<A mortal who still has not heard a reason for accepting your assistance. And a mortal who is done accepting conditions set by gods.> Noriko points out.
<Be wary of mortals who refer to themselves by the third person.> Roxiana adds.
They both hear a sound they didn’t know could exist: a bird sighing.
<I ask for nothing in return: this threat has already been allowed to go too far, and must be stopped now. I have but one thing to offer as tribute. The coordinates of the next targets.>
<What are you talking about?>
<Medusa and Skorpios are not acting alone. One of them has been resurrected by your shadow.>
<Rei.> Noriko says. It’s amazing how much anger she managed to put into these three letters.
<And she gave the other coordinates of the next gods to attack. With these coordinates, you might be able to stop her before she does any more damage.>
<How do you know this?> Kari asks.
<The shadow took over the galaxy that belonged to my mother’s sister and enslaved my cousin. Do you think I would not have spies and informants on her activities? You have limited experience outside of a few galaxies. I offer you data on the others.> Horus concludes.
<I will take that data. And every intel you gathered on Rei.> Noriko proposes.
<Deal. If you let me join the fight against those new slayers.> Horus says, lifting one of his legs.
Noriko never thought she’d give a handshake to a bird, much less a divine one.
Themyscira
Naqada Galaxy, 17 million light-years from Earth
Rei Null is running a diagnostic on the cybernetic Anubis; released from his petrification, there was the danger of her control over his body having slipped.
Khonsu watches over her analyzing the data, remaining observant in the shadows.
<You’re awfully quiet.> she points out.
<You ran a great risk approaching Skorpios. She could have killed you.>
<You run a greater risk associating with me. Come on, spit it out, what’s bothering you?>
<This mortal is too dangerous to be kept alive. Why didn’t you use the Twilight Mirror to absorb her Drylon powers, like you did with the Myridian doppelganger?>
<I will, when she’s no longer useful. While she puts a galaxy-sized target on her back, I’m free to act undisturbed.>
A pocket dimension tangential to the universe
Medusa has been dead before. She wasn’t looking forward to repeating the experience, but she’s glad that this time she got to wake up in a bed.
<Next time warn me before you kill me.> she says, stretching out her arms and her snakes as she sits up on the bed.
<No promises.> Skorpios answers, not even bothering from looking up from her tablet.
<Did we kill Persephone?>
<Not yet. But we did manage to kill Isis. That’s four goddesses now.>
<Isis? I don’t even remember her showing up.>
<You were dead at the time. Feeling up for a mission?>
<Give me an hour or so. Who are we after now?> Medusa asks, massaging her neck; she can still feel the wound of the decapitation even after it’s done healing.
<We’re done with the Aegian Galaxy. There may be some lesser gods hiding like vermin, but we can finish them off later. We need to aim higher.>
<Higher than Isis? I can’t believe we killed a Class-1 goddess. Should we attack her vassals now?>
<Null will certainly look for us there. We need to move to another galaxy where she can’t follow us, and I have just the right coordinates. For a galaxy she’s never been to.>
<Where did you get those coordinates?>
<That’s not important. Get your strength up quickly, Medusa: we’ve already gone after Greek and Egyptian gods… we can’t let the Sumerian think they’re getting out of this alive.>