Beyond The Impossible

Erebus, Stygian Galaxy – 3,070,000 light-years from Earth

The Palace Of The Dead gets understandably few visitors, but Hades still prides himself as a good host. The dining hall is decorated in the same decadent Gothic style as the rest of his residence, but the living skeletons that serve as the palace’s workforce have assembled a rich banquet on the table.

Lord Hades sits at one corner of the rectangular black table, right under the candelabra of bones; his face is hidden by his dark cloak. His mother Rhea sits opposite to him, holding a chalice while one of the skeletons refills it with ambrosia.

<You know what this place needs, Hades? A little more sunlight! Or at least, some light… didn’t this planet have a moon once?> the red-haired goddess asks.

<It did. Cerberus ate it> the Lord Of The Dead answers.

He’s the only one sitting at the table without anything on his plate. His wife Persephone is at his left, messily devouring a pomegranate, and Enyo is at his right chewing dragon meat.

The two younger goddesses are staring at each other, and even a blind man would see that the supreme disdain they have for sharing the same room.

<Enyo. I heard of troubling reports from the Ilithyia sector. What is the situation there?>

<War.>

<Well of fu##ing course. What else did you fu##ing expect the C##t of War to say?>

Enyo doesn’t take Persephone’s words lightly, rising from her chair and ready to jump at her.

<Persephone, please> Hades tries to calm his wife.

<Relax. This little b##ch can’t even take a p### without her mommy’s permission, isn’t that right, C##t of War?> Persephone insists, throwing pomegranate seeds at Enyo.

<Apologize> Enyo demands, as the seeds are disintegrated before touching her.

<Or what? You’ll run crying to mommy? I’ve got your apology right here> Persephone tells her, showing the middle finger. Enyo reacts by breaking the table in half and taking a step towards Persephone, whose body is glowing green in anticipation of a fight.

<You know, you both remind me of your mothers when they were your age> Rhea comments, taking a very long sip from the cup of ambrosia.

<Mother, you should not encourage them> Hades tells her.

<It’s true! Demeter and Hera were always at each other’s throat to prove who was stronger. They could’ve destroyed the Galaxy if we hadn’t figured out how to settle things.>

<How?>

<How?>

<Oh, you don’t want to know. Besides, it would take, like… days to set up another one of those things, and who wants to go through all of that?> Rhea dismisses the idea.

<I agree, it is better if we drop the subject> Hades adds, telekinetically repairing the table.

<Although, now that I think about it, Hestia did miss it the last time we declared the Strongest Under The Heavens. It would be a perfect bonding experience!> Rhea says enthusiastically, clapping for herself before disappearing into a self-generated wormhole.

Hades is left between an angry Goddess of War and an even angrier wife, who barely containing enough energy to melt half the planet, asks him:

<What. The f##k. Is the Strongest Under The Heavens?>

Hell, 163.000 light-years from Earth

There is no night in Hell, since there is no sun. However even Demons need to sleep, meaning that their guards have shifts even on Desecration Mountain, one of the holiest places on the planet.

Kari and Torn emerge from a portal created by the latter, inside the chamber that houses five large thrones made from bones.

<Be quiet. It won’t be long before someone notices we’re here> Torn tells her, moving towards a specific throne: it’s the only one marked by an eight point white star.

<What is this place, exactly?> she wonders.

<An access point for the five gods allowed to set foot in Hell. My father showed me the place when I was a child. SOUL REAPER!> Torn shouts, creating a scythe that appears in his hands; it’s made of raw Blood energy and it’s surrounded by bolts of black electricity.

<He was the first Demon to realize that the door opens both ways> he explains, hitting the throne with all of his strength… or rather trying to: he hits something invisible, creating a ripple effect that seems to open a crack in the air itself.

<Now be careful. She can be very…> Torn begins to explain, until a hand appears from the portal he just opened and holds tight to his throat. Kari is ready to help him, reflexively thinking to create new duplicates to assist her; when nothing happens, she freezes.

A woman emerges from the portal, clearly not a human: her skin is white as snow and her hair long and darker than black. She’s only wearing an elaborate copper brassiere and red silk loincloth.

She kisses Torn while simultaneously levitating in order to lift him off the ground, since they’re the same height. It’s such a long and deep kiss that Kari is convinced it could kill a human for lack of oxygen, and even Torn seems out of breath when the woman lets him go.

<…unpredictable. Welcome back to Hell, Inanna.>

<Always loved this place. What did you bring me, an appetizer?> she asks, moving towards Kari.

She’s undeniably a gorgeous woman, but Kari feels uncomfortable: the look in Inanna’s red eyes could either mean that she wants to have sex with her or disembowel her.

The fact that Inanna gets closer to smell Kari doesn’t make her any less creepy.

<Ugh, her atoms smell funny, like entangled tachyons. Don’t you have a fresher tribute?>

<I didn’t summon you for a sacrifice, Inanna. I wish to learn the secrets of the Blood> Torn says.

<Don’t lie to me, Torn, you don’t give a kusarikku’s a## about the Blood, you just want to be stronger. Is that what you want as well, little pink one?> Inanna asks to Kari.

<It is. You’re a… you’re the Goddess of War, aren’t you?>

<I’m the sexiest and most powerful being in the universe, yes> Inanna boasts, flexing her arms to show off her toned biceps. Kari glimpses the look that Torn is giving her; she’s known him long enough to understand it means “don’t argue with her, just pretend it’s true”.

<Well? Will you train us?> Kari asks, getting impatient.

<Sure, why not? I don’t have anything planned for the century. Stand back> Inanna warns them, throwing a punch in the air. She doesn’t technically hit anything, but it had some effect: the light around her fist is distorted, like it was underwater. Using both hands, Inanna grabs something invisible and she starts pulling it apart: as her muscles tense, she slowly opens up a portal.

<What is she doing!?> Kari asks.

<Tearing a hole in spacetime> Torn calmly explains. By his tone, it’s something he’s seen before.

<Come on, I won’t bite. Not until you put me in the mood first, at least> Inanna invites them to cross the portal, while suggestively licking her lips.

<This is probably a bad idea>– Kari comments, holding Torn’s hand as they follow Inanna.

 

61,000,000 light-years from Earth

Once on the other side, Kari is so in awe of what she’s seeing that her jaw drops.

They’re in a field of fluorescent blue corals, under a truly alien sky: two purple gas planets, impossibly sharing the same green ring, dominate almost the entire view.

<Welcome to my realm, little pink one. You’re the first human to set foot in the Uruk Galaxy.>

<Noriko’s gonna be sooo jealous> Kari comments, smiling.

 

New York City, Earth

This is the third time that the city has witnessed the reconstruction of Null Tower, so it’s under less scrutiny from the public. Nobody seems to pay much attention to Vesta carrying a beam on each shoulder as she flies towards the top, or to the multitude of drones buzzing around the building to make thousands of little adjustments. They’re not even noticing the Indian woman, who has blue wings coming out of her back and is sketching something on a notebook, keeping her position stable around the person coordinating the reconstruction: Noriko Null, wearing her trademark green leather jacket and strangely enough a yellow safety helmet on her head.

<What are you doing?> she asks the winged woman.

<I decided to learn how to draw. How am I doing?> she answers, proudly presenting the sketch on the notebook… it’s probably meant to be a portrait of Noriko, but it’s hard to tell since it could have been drawn by someone in grade school. Which is not surprising: Lily, the winged alien, looks like a grown woman but she’s barely one year old.

<It… needs work. But I was talking about your disguise: I thought you were using the hologram of a white woman, since you got tired of the African-American look.>

<I got tired of that too. Have you ever tried looking like you are from a different race?>

<No. I don’t have a problem being Asian. Just choose one look and stick to it, okay? It’s distracting.>

<But people keep telling me I don’t sound or act the way I’m supposed to.>

<Yeah, welcome to my life> Noriko comments under her breath, when all of a sudden she’s not alone on the rooftop. Quantum has materialized next to her, asking:

<Hey Nori, do you have a minute?>

<I’ll see if Vesta needs help. Nice seeing you, Quantum> Lily greets him, waving enthusiastically before flying downwards. Noriko notes that he takes care to wait until she’s gone before talking.

<She got used to call me with the codename in public rather fast> he says.

<Well, she was a spy. If you want to be reassured about her, she’s alright: she hasn’t tried to contact the Blue Rose and she’s proving to be a valuable asset.>

<Yeah, I agree. Listen, Nori… you’ve studied the Lampyrians, right? I mean, not only their genetic code, but I bet you know a little about their society.>

<A little. Is there something worrying you?>

<Well, this is kinda awkward, but… do you think she likes humans?>

<Oh for cryin’ out loud, Max, she’s barely older than my sister!!!>

<She looks like a grown woman to me. Besides, before your elixir thingy Lampyrians lived for two years, right? Doesn’t that make Lily middle aged already?>

<I guess, but… Max, she may be attractive and all, but you really should think twice before committing to a relationship with someone on a completely different intellectual level.>

<It’s a good thing I know Lily is some sort of genius, otherwise I’d think you just called me an idiot> Quantum notes, to which Noriko responds by sighing and massaging the bridge of her nose.

<I’m not good at this, am I?>

<That little jab didn’t come out of nowhere. Trouble with your Russian boyfriend?>

<I don’t wanna talk about it. And Dmitry’s not my boyfriend.>

<Right. He’s just the guy who lives with you and the person you spend the most time with.>

<Physically speaking, maybe. Some days, we barely speak to each other. He’s getting colder.>

<Mister personality? You don’t say> Quantum can’t help but poke fun at Voron.

<You don’t really like Dmitry, don’t you?>

<I liked Todd better, but I’m not the one sleeping with-ouch!> Quantum laments when she half-jokingly punches his arm.

<He’s a good man. Perhaps a little… uhm…>

<Smug?>

<Complacent. That’s the problem: Dmitry’s lived all his life as the smartest person in the room, and while intellectually he doesn’t resent the fact that I’m much smarter than him… I’m worried he feels a little intimidated and emasculated by me> she admits, at the same time relieved by the chance of speaking about this and embarrassed by sharing personal information. Luckily for her, the conversation is interrupted by the sudden appearance of a large energy cloud in the sky.

<We’re under attack!!!> Lily exclaims, flying upwards as fast as she can.

<Oh thank God> Noriko exhales a sigh of relief, concentrating her silver eyes on the phenomenon. It doesn’t last very long: once a woman with red hair flies out of it, it disappears without a trace.

<She looks a lot like Vesta. What do you think, time travel? Alternate timeline?> Quantum asks.

<Mom!? What are you doing here!?!?> he hears Vesta exclaim.